Kathmandu Dog Names

Maru is the name of a historical neighborhood in central Kathmandu. Religious festivals and market activities take place in this architecturally interesting square; both temples and residential buildings can be found there. Maru is also the name of a dog of the Shiba breed who has become an Instagram star. Maru lives in Tokyo and has over 2.4 million followers worldwide. Maru shows some of the traits that are characteristic of the breed, which is native to Japan, such as a dignified posture, pointed ears and curled tail.

Maru’s “person” is Shinjiro Ono, a company owner in Tokyo. One and his wife found Maru in a pet shop when he was just two months old and began documenting his growth on Instagram. After the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Ono started to post three photos of Maru a day, with the intent of cheering up those who had been impacted by the disaster. According to Ono, “there were only a few followers in the beginning, but within a month there were more than 5,000." Interestingly (and surprising to Ono) many of those following Maru actually lived overseas.

After the earthquake, media worldwide commented on the calm response of the Japanese impacted. Ono noted that “the image of a Shiba dog standing straight, looking serene and resolute, may have fit the image that people overseas have of the Japanese.” Three photo books featuring Maru have been published by Kadokawa Corp and the book have been translated and published in South Korea, China and Taiwan.

Ono posts pictures of his dog every day, partly to show his appreciation for the support received from overseas. A Taiwan information technology company chose Maru to introduce its latest product, a remotely controlled dog monitor at Interpets, which is one of the largest pet events in Japan. On opening day, Maru was the star in a demonstration of Furbo, which is a camera-equipped device that lets dog owners monitor their pets while they are away from home. The device can be remotely controlled with smartphones. During the demonstration, Maru stood near the camera, with Ono a distance away. Ono showed how when he called Maru’s name through the built-in speaker of the device, Maru would bark back in return. The monitor can be remotely controlled to release dog treats and Maru happily demonstrated how he could lunge to receive the treat.

Maru’s popularity led to Maru being offered the role of a tourism ambassador and his photos, goods and photo books are exhibited at Gallery Marusan near the Nezu subway station in Tokyo.