Introduction
Hachiko is a true story about a dog (Akita-Inu) whose loyalty to his master went beyond the grave.
Hachiko used to wait outside Shibuya train station in Tokyo for his master returning home after a hard day’s work. Unfortunately, one day his master died at work, but Hachiko waited and waited but his master never came.
So every day for many years Hachiko would go to Shibuya station to welcome his master, but Hachiko’s master would never return and Hachiko would never see him again.
As loyalty to Country/Emperor and latterly to your company is very important in Japanese society, the story of Hachiko has lived on and has been celebrated and is a story that still inspires the Japanese people and has spread around the world.
Hachiko’s Background
Hachiko a golden brown Akita (please read my previous article about the Akita breed of dog) was born on November 10, 1923, at a farm located in Odate, Akita prefecture in the far northwest of Japan, to father Oshinai (named after the local area) and mother Goma (sesame).
Location of Akita prefecture
The puppy was bought for 30 yen, a fair amount of money for this time. During my research, I have come across two stories of who actually bought Hachiko, so let me tell you both.
Ueno Hidesaburo was a professor in the Department of Agriculture at The Imperial University of Tokyo (now The University of Tokyo) it was then and is still now thought of as one of the top universities in Japan and its graduates are highly thought of.
It is said that Hachiko was bought as a gift to Ueno from a former student, Mase Chiyomatsu, the head of the Arable Land Cultivation section of the Akita prefecture because he knew Ueno had an interest in pure breed Akita’s.
The other more widespread story is that Ueno Hidesaburo bought the Akita-Inu himself, but whoever actually bought him the result was the same. In 1924 Hachiko was placed on an express train and arrived in Tokyo 20 hours later.
Ueno named the puppy Hachi which means the number 8 in Japanese and it is considered lucky. Later the suffix ko was added as a term of endearment. Hachi was a puppy and ko means child, so became Hachiko.
Hachiko in Tokyo
It seems Hachiko was a sickly puppy, so Ueno and his wife had to take care of him. It took time and great effort and care for Hachiko’s health to improve.
This care and affection from Ueno created a bond between him and his new puppy. The pair became inseparable and they had a routine they would follow every day, in the morning they would walk to Shibuya station and Ueno would take the train to work.
After Ueno had finished his lectures, he would take the train and arrive at Shibuya station at 3 pm, and always he would find his loyal Hachiko waiting for him and they would return home together.
This idyllic routine of man and dog enjoying each other’s company and looking forward to welcoming each other at the end of the day continued until May 21, 1925. Hachiko walked with Ueno to Shibuya station, then at 3 pm, Hachiko returned to the station to welcome his master, but sadly professor Hidesaburo Ueno while at work suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died. He was only years old.
So Ueno never returned to Shibuya station, where his loyal dog was waiting for him.
Photo credit: alchetron.com
The legend of Hachiko begins
The next day Hachiko appeared at Shibuya station at 3 pm to welcome Ueno off the train, but of course, Hachiko never saw his master again, but Hachiko for the next nine years, nine months and fifteen days met the 3 pm train at Shibuya station, always looking for his friend.
After Ueno’s death, his family was in turmoil and for various reasons Hachiko was passed around to several different people and locations in Tokyo, but Hachiko always found a way to get to Shibuya station to meet the 3 pm train. Eventually, some stability returned to Hachiko’s life when professor Ueno’s former gardener, Kikusabura Kobayashi took Hachiko into his home.
Hachiko continued to hang around Shibuya station and by all accounts wasn’t treated well by the local merchants who thought he was a nuisance an unwanted stray dog, so he tried to chase him away. Commuters and children would taunt and tease him.
However due to Hachiko’s dogged determination to stay around the station, over time he won over some people who would stop to pet him and bring him treats and generally spend some time with him.
Hachiko’s story started to spread locally, one of Ueno’s former students, Hirokichi Saito, who had become an expert on the Akita breed, and through his research uncovered that there was only 30 pure breed Akita’s left.
Saito heard about Hachiko and took a train to Shibuya to see if he could meet Hachiko, of course, he was there, as usual, waiting for his master. Saito followed the dog home to the home of Ueno’s former gardener, Kazuburo Kobayashi. Speaking to Kobayashi, Saito was struck by the amazing story of loyalty and devotion showed by Hachiko, and he was inspired to write several articles about Hachiko.
In 1932, one of his articles was published in the national daily newspaper Asahi Shimbun, the story caught the imagination of the Japanese people and the story of Hachiko became famous.
People would go to Shibuya station just to meet the famous Hachiko, he became a symbol of loyalty and devotion.
Hachiko’s fame grew, there was pressure to recognize Hachiko in some way and in April 1934 a Bronze statue of Hachiko was unveiled outside Shibuya station on the location where Hachiko would wait for his master. The bronze statue was sculptured by Teru Ando.
Hachiko was still alive at this time and was present at the unveiling. Which was great this sort of expression of affection is normally reserved for when the person or in this case the dog has died.
His watch is over – The death of Hachiko
By 1935 Hachiko was showing his age, he was underweight, one of his ears drooped and he suffered from severe heartworms. Near the end he became so weak he was unable to walk back to the gardener’s house, so he just stayed around Shibuya station, still keeping an eye on for his master.
Hachiko died on March 8, 1935, at the age of 11.
The autopsy reported that Hachiko’s internal organs were infested with parasitical disease and 4 yakitori skewers in his stomach, but they surprisingly didn’t contribute to his death.
Hachiko lives on (in a way)
Hachiko’s organs were preserved and can currently be found on display in the archive museum of the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Agriculture.
The organs were reexamined in 2011 and it was discovered that Hachiko died of cancer.
Also, I was surprised to out that Hachiko’s fur was preserved and stuffed and mounted, and you can view Hachiko at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno. It is not displayed center stage as you might expect, many people just walk past the display, the plate just reads “Akita-Inu (Hachi)”
Hachiko’s death made national headlines, he was cremated with his ashes being placed next to professor Ueno’s gave in Aoyama Cemetery, Minato, Tokyo.
Placing animal remains in a human cemetery is very unusual in Japan, however, an exception was made for Hachiko, he needed to be reunited with professor Ueno, after 10 years his vigil was finally over and he could rest in peace with his beloved master.
Similar tales of loyalty/devotion
Hachiko is an amazing story, but surprisingly not unique. Throughout history, you can find such tales from ancient Greek Homer’s story of Argos.
There are similar tales to Hachiko’s:
- Fido from Italy
- Shep from Fort Benton, Montana, USA
- Red Dog from Pilbara, Western Australia
Researching this topic, I was surprised to find numerous other dogs who remained faithful after their master’s death.
The story I grew up with was Greyfriars Bobby. Please indulge me and just let me outline the tale of Greyfriars Bobby.
In 1850 a gardener John Gray and his family moved to Edinburgh. He was unable to find work as a gardener, so he joined the Edinburgh Police as a night watchman.
He needed a watchdog to help him with his duties, but mainly to keep him company. So he got a Skye Terrier called Bobby. They were inseparable and bonded over their long work hours together.
Sadly, John died of tuberculosis on the 15th of February 1858 and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. Bobby refused to leave his master’s grave and was outside in all weathers.
The gardener and keeper of Greyfriars tried many times to evict Bobby but were unsuccessful, so in the end, they provided shelter for Bobby.
Bobby was famous throughout Edinburgh because of his loyalty and devotion to his dead master. Crowds of people would gather at the entrance of the Kirkyard, waiting for the one o’clock gun that would signal the appearance of Bobby leaving the grave for his lunch.
The people of Edinburgh took good care of Bobby, for 14 years the faithful dog kept watch and guard over the grave until he died in 1872.
Please look into this story more if you are interested.
Hachiko’s Legacy
Statues
Shibuya Station
The most famous and iconic statue of Hachiko is of cause the bronze statue outside Shibuya station.
In 1933, the sculptor. Teru Ando observed Hachiko at Shibuya station. He was impressed by Hachiko’s appearance and story. Ando sculptured a plaster statue of Hachiko for the Imperial Fine Arts Academy Exhibition.
In April 1934, Ando’s bronze statue was erected in front of Shibuya station. Hachiko attended the unveiling of his statue with professor Ueno’s family members.
In 1944, as part of the war effort, Hachiko’s statue was melted down, and reportedly the metal was used to make train parts.
In 1948, the society for recreating the Hachiko Statue commissioned Takeshi Ando, son of the original sculptor, to make a replacement statue of Hachiko for the original location onside Shibuya station.
The recreation of the statue was also a decisive point in saving the Akita breed from extinction.
The new statue was erected in August 1948, and the statue still stands outside Shibuya station today.
It seems fitting that the statue is now a famous meeting place for people to meet friends and family.
So the spirit of Hachiko lives on.
Odate station
Odate was Hachiko’s hometown, so when the townsfolk found out about the statue in Tokyo, they wanted the same statue to be placed in Hachiko’s hometown.
Volunteers built the statue in front of the Odate train station and the unveiling ceremony was held on 8th July 1935.
Unfortunately, the Odate statue fell to the same fate as the Shibuya one and it was melted down as part of the metal collection act.
For a while, the townsfolk of Odate wanted the famous statue from Shibuya station to be moved to Odate as they saw it as Hachiko’s home.
In May 1964, a group statue of Akita dogs with Hachi at the center was constructed in front of the Odate train station.
In 1984 at the proposal of the Odate tourism board association, a committee for the reconstruction of the bronze Hachi statue was formed, fundraising for the statue was launched and money came in from all over Japan.
On the 14th of November 1987, there was an unveiling ceremony held and appropriately or strangely depending on your view, the stuffed Hachiko from the museum in Tokyo was guest of honor at the unveiling ceremony.
The University of Tokyo – The reunion statue
My personnel favorite statue of Hachiko is on the campus of Tokyo University. The statue shows professor Ueno and Hachi reunited together, with Hachiko jumping up to greet his master and professor Ueno smiling.
Photo credit: tiptoeingworld.com
Professor Ueno lectured at Tokyo University, so the university thought it was appropriate to initiate a project to build a memorial statue to reunite Hachiko and the professor. Donations exceeding 10 million Yen were donated by individuals and companies to realize this reunion.
On March 9, 2015, the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Tokyo unveiled the bronze statue. The statue was sculptured by Tsutomo Ueda.
If you are ever in Tokyo, the campus is open to the public, and the statue is located at the entrance, the statue is illuminated at night to add to the atmospheric sculpture.
Hachiko in Film
In 1987 the movie Hachi-ko (Hachiko Monogatari – The Tale of Hachiko) was released, directed by Seijiro Koyama and stars Tatsuya Nakadai, Kaoru Yachigusa, and Toshinori Omi.
The film tells the story of Hachiko’s life from his birth until his death and imagined spiritual reunion with his master.
The film was very successful and was the last big hit for Japanese film studio Shochiku Kinema Kenkyu-jo.
The film really reinforced the story into Japanese society of the importance of loyalty.
Hachi: A Dog’s Tale was released in 2009, directed by Lasse Hallstrom and stars Richard Gere and Joan Allen.
The film was filmed in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, USA, it follows roughly the true story of Hachiko. It was a box office success.
The film definitely made the story of Hachiko much well more known in America, and around the world.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed finding out about the true story of Hachiko and hopefully you have found it an interesting story/tale.
It’s a time-honored story/tale of Man and his best friend building unbreakable bonds and even death can’t stop the love and loyalty.
I believe people are attracted to this story because love and loyalty are desirable in all cultures and everyone wants to experience it and attain it, in whatever form it takes.
