Horse park in Osaka aims to protect Japanese breed

KASHIWARA, OSAKA PREF. –

A horse park in Osaka Prefecture is protecting and raising Dosanko Japanese horses, with only about 1,000 of the breed to be found in Japan.

Masashi Yokoyama, 71, operates a park where people can wear traditional Japanese clothes and enjoy riding the Dosanko horses in the city of Kashiwara in Osaka Prefecture.

Originally found in Hokkaido, Dosanko horses have the biggest population among the eight native varieties of Japanese horses, according to the Japan Equine Affairs Association.