B38
Stuffed specimen of Yambushi

Yambushi is one of the traditional Japanese breeds of domestic fowl. In Eastern and Southern Europe, the breeds with the ridge of cartilage beneath the comb and feathers covering face had been established. The representative breed is the Polish. The Yambushi started as a breed in the Edo Period. It was probably born by the breeding using the Polish or similar breeds introduced in Japan and the Japanese native fowls. Because the characteristic form of the head like the polish attracts the breeders, the population might be popular among them. This stuffed was collected in 1958 by Mr. Takeru Yamaguchi from Yakushima Island of Kagoshima Prefecture. Mr. Yamaguchi investigated the domestic chicken as a staff of Nosan Corporation. Furthermore, he collected the stuffed specimens and materials of the Japanese breeds. The specimens are known as Yamaguchi collection. Since Nosan Corporation constructed the exhibition room named Wakei-Kan Museum (Museum of Japanese native fowls) in 1964, these collections have been displayed in the Museum and a lot of visitors appreciated them. Nosan Corporation donated these collections to the University Museum of the University of Tokyo in 2012. The collection has supported the study of the domestic fowls since then. The Yambushi is not advantageous to increase the food production because the body size is small, the growth is slow and the egg productivity is also low. Nevertheless the breeds as Yambushi showing interesting appearance have been popular in Japan, Europe and all over the world. It means that the fowls are not only bred for the food production, but also loved as companion animals. (Hideki Endo & Mayu Kusumi)