Yokohama
Minohiki · The Long-Crower's Cousin

date: 2026-06-01

The Yokohama is the European cousin of the Japanese Minohiki (蓑引き, “saddle-drooping”) — a long-tailed gamefowl developed in the late nineteenth century by German fanciers from imported Japanese stock.

From the Minohiki

The Minohiki is one of Japan’s long-tail breeds, smaller and more compact than the Onagadori, with a distinctive long saddle as well as a long tail. The breed was developed in the Awa province of Shikoku, perhaps as a variant of the Onagadori, and was designated a Natural Monument of Japan in 1952.

German fanciers imported Minohiki birds in the 1880s and bred them into the Yokohama — a long-tailed white bird with a remarkable flowing saddle and a tail of 1–1.5 metres in mature cocks. The breed takes its European name from the port of Yokohama, through which the imported birds entered Europe.

Distinctive Physical Traits

The Yokohama is a slender, single-combed, long-tailed bird of upright carriage. Plumage is close and hard; the most famous variety is white with a red saddle and a long, arching tail of pure white. Other varieties include black-breasted-red and the rarer white without saddle.

The tail in mature cocks is 90–150 cm, carried high and slightly arched. The bird must be kept on a high perch and on clean bedding.

Conservation

The Yokohama is listed by the Livestock Conservancy as critical — one of the most endangered of all poultry breeds. Its numbers in Western exhibition are very small; the breed’s future depends on the dedication of a handful of breeders in Europe and North America.