Shamo (軍鶏) is an overall designation forgamefowl in Japan. There are seven recognisedbreeds of Shamochicken in Japan, all of which are designatedNatural Monuments of Japan. The Shamo breeds are thought to derive from fighting chickens ofMalay type brought from Thailand in the early part of the seventeenth century.[1]: 13
The Shamo breeds are thought to derive from fighting chickens ofMalay type brought from Thailand in the early part of the seventeenth century or earlyEdo period (1603–1867).[1]: 13 [2]: 270 The Japanese wordShamo derives fromSiam, the former name ofThailand.[2]: 270 The birds have been selectively bred for several hundred years for their fighting ability. Some were imported to Western countries in the 1970s;[3]: 288 in the twenty-first century, the birds are reported from four countries outside Japan: Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.[4]
In Western countries, the breed nameShamo includes both the O-Shamo and the Chu-Shamo.[2]: 270 In the United Kingdom, different weight ranges are given in theBritish Poultry Standards for the two types within the Shamo breed;[3]: 289 the Ko-Shamo, Nankin Shamo, Yakido and Yamato Gunkei are recognised as distinct breeds.[6] TheEntente Européenne recognises the Shamo, Ko-Shamo, Yakido and Yamato Gunkei, and lists the Chu-Shamo and Nankin Shamo as unrecognised.[7] TheAustralian Poultry Standards list only one form of Shamo, which has a minimum weight of3 kg.[8]: 227 TheAmerican Poultry Association recognises the Shamo as a breed, both full-sized and bantam.[9]
^Transboundary breed: Shamo. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2025.
^Masaoki Tsudzuki (2003).Japanese native chickens. In: Hsiu-Luan Chang, Yu-chia Huang (editors) (2003).The Relationship between Indigenous Animals and Humans in APEC Region. Taipei: Chinese Society of Animal Science. Pages 91-116.
These are thechicken breeds considered in Japan to be wholly or partly of Japanese origin. Inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively Japanese.
