Shamo

The Shamo is a very tall bird with a muscular body and very short, hard, closely held feathers. The plumage is scarcely sufficient to cover the body often resulting in considerable exposed skin. They have a cruel expression much like a bird of prey. The Shamo has a broad, meaty body carried almost vertically on strong muscular legs.

In Japan they are covered by a law to protect them from extinction and they are recognized as having desirable meat characteristics. They were brought to Japan originally for cock fighting purposes in the 17th century and remained to leave their imprint on many of the oriental breeds that have their origin in Japan.

Sources

American Standard of Perfection 1998