Urajiro | Coats and Colors

Urajiro is a type of countershading caused by a very light pigment intensity on a dog’s underside, forechest and muzzle. Urajiro markings cause light beige, cream or off-white areas on a dog’s underside while the pigment on the upper body keeps its original color.

What is Urajiro?

Urajiro is a term originally found in Japanese breed standards to describe a type of countershading in some Japanese dog breeds. It consists of two words ura (‘bottom’) and shiro (‘white’). So urajiro can be translated as ‘underside white‘.

Urajiro markings are caused by a low phaeomelanin intensity on the dog’s underside. These markings can be beige or nearly white. They can have a crisp edge or gradually blend with the red coat on a dog’s back. But on average, urajiro shows less color blending than regular countershading.

Urajiro only ever affects red pigment and never the black pigment in a dog’s pattern. Although urajiro can be nearly white it’s not the same as white spotting which is caused by a true lack of pigment or domino which can cause lighter phaeomelanin and removes some eumelanin.

But we don’t know yet what causes these markings. And we don’t understand the mode of inheritance or why some dogs have very intense urajiro and some dogs have a more washed-out pattern. Some anecdotal evidence hints at recessive red carriers (E/e) to often have stronger and bigger markings.

Japanese breed standards call for markings at the side of the muzzle and the cheeks, the lower jaw, throat, chest and belly as well as the forechest extending up to the shoulder joint. Urajiro does in fact not define the desired intensity of urajiro markings but their correct spread.

Other kennel clubs like the FCI have started using the term urajiro in their own breed standards. They slightly expanded the list of desired markings because most dogs with urajiro also show light markings inside their ears, above the eyes, at the inside of the legs and at the underside of their tail.

Although the popular dog breeds Akita and Shiba Inu are known for their very refined cream white markings the term urajiro is used to describe any form of countershading. Rare breeds like Kishu or Shikoku also have urajiro but it takes longer to mature and is not always as intense as in Shibas or Akitas.

Urajiro Markings

Urajiro does not look the same on every dog. One major difference is the individual color pattern on a particular dog. Japanese breeds only come in quite traditional color patterns compared to all the possible coat color combinations that can happen in dogs. This makes it easy to spot the effect of urajiro:

Red With Urajiro

It’s easy to notice urajiro markings on a solid red coat. Solid red Shibas or Akitas express clear sable. The intensity and spread of urajiro vary a lot from dog to dog.

Sesame With Urajiro

Various phenoytpes of shaded sable or agouti are sometimes called sesame in Japanese breeds. The urajiro is really hard to miss in these dogs, and can make them look a little “wolf-like”.

Tan Point With Urajiro

The urajiro only lightens red coat and can not affect black hairs. The effect of urajiro on a tan point pattern is only visible inside of the tan markings.

Urajiro follows the basic spread of tan markings but they don’t overlap completely. This causes the lighter and darker shade of red to appear side by side inside the markings.

Brindle With Urajiro

Brindle adds vertical black stripes on any red coat. Brindle can affect any A locus pattern that has at least some red pigment (brindle sable, brindle saddle, brindle point,…).

And the striping can be very sparse or very dense.

Urajiro affects the red pigment underneath the brindle pattern and causes a color gradient from cream to red. The more red coat is visible despite the black stripes, the easier the urajiro becomes visible.