敏 (びん) Bin

Bin, pronounced "bean," is Hiro's little brother in spirit, if not genetically... though they are both Shiba Inus born after the 1950s, so their family trees probably touched roots somewhere decades ago.

A quick note on his name, though it's a bit of a sad story: Originally I was going to get a different puppy from the same breeder; I visited him and decided to call him 俊 (とし) Toshi. Unfortunately, days after my visit, I learned that he had a heart murmur and couldn't be sold. Instead, I was introduced to this little bugger who shared the same father, though his mother is a まめしば (mameshiba). As I am writing this, he is just shy of 100 days old and weighs about 3 kilograms (...kilograms?! What is happening to me?!), so it is unclear how large he will get. Fingers crossed that he stays small-ish so he can come with me on trains!

Bin was born in Wakayama prefecture on December 1, 2025. His breeder is Hideki Komazawa, an amazing fellow who has bred many award-winning show dogs. I can tell from Bin's temperament that Komazawa-sensei had a firm but gentle hand in his early rearing, and I am very grateful to him. If you're in Japan and you want a Shiba puppy that is healthy and well-adjusted, I would definitely point you to him.

Now, what you probably came for... a few pictures of this little critter whose nicknames are endless: Bin bag, Bin pile, black Bin, Bin-ee weenie, Bin bong, Bin curd...

More to come over the years. (Pictures and nicknames both.)