Helen Keller with her Akita dog, Kamikaze. She is standing, and the dog is on his hind legs, with front paws in Helen's hands. The back of the photographs reads: "Helen Keller and Kamikaze, the Akita dog from Japan." She received Kamikaze in 1937. After his death within the year, she received his brother, Kenzan in 1938, as an official gift from the Japanese government. Helen Keller said of the Akita dogs, "If ever there was an angel in fur, it was Kamikaze. I know I shall never feel quite the same tenderness for any other pet. The Akita dog has all the qualities that appeal to me — he is gentle, companionable and trusty."
