page_title: Japanese Chin
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Japanese Chin / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Alexandra of Denmark. The dog is thought to be a Japanese Chin called Punch.
context_page_description: The Japanese Chin, also known as the Japanese Spaniel, is a dog acknowledged for its importance to Japanese nobility. It is also known for its strabismus of the eyes. Being both a lap dog and a companion dog, this toy breed has a distinctive heritage.
context_section_description: While most believe that the source breed for the Japanese Chin originated in China, the route by which the Chin arrived in Japan is a widely debated topic. One story claims that the dogs were given to the Japanese royalty in AD 732 as gifts from the rulers of Korea. Others maintain that they were given as gifts to the Empress of Japan as early as the middle of the sixth century or by the seventh century. Still others claim that the Chin first arrived in Japan around the year AD 1000.
  In 1613, the Japanese Chin was brought to England and in 1853 was acquired by American naval officer, Matthew Calbraith Perry. From 1868 they have been lap dogs to ladies of the upper class and today are companion dogs.
caption: Alexandra of Denmark with her Japanese Chin, called Punch, original painted 1893.
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