Life and Death of Hachiko
I didn’t know the story of Hachiko until one of my tutors mentioned it and I discovered a heartbreaking story.
Hachiko was an Akita dog born on a farm in Akita prefecture in Japan on November 10, 1923. He was named Hachiko because hachi means eight, and he was the eighth in the litter. Ko means prince or duke. Hachiko was purchased by Professor Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department of the University of Tokyo, then known as Tokyo Imperial University. The professor and dog formed an unusual bond as they walked together to the Shibuya train station in Tokyo where Professor Ueno boarded a train to work. The dog started to show up at the station every evening at 4 p.m. and they would walk home together.
In May of 1925, the professor died from a cerebral hemorrhage while at work and did not return home. Hachiko continued to go to the train station to meet his owner, a vigil that lasted for almost ten years. One of Ueno’s former students, familiar with the sight of Hachiko, followed him home and discovered that he had been given to a former gardener and was able to learn about Hachiko’s history. His story about the faithful dog appeared in a major newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, on October 4, 1932, and Hachiko was elevated to legendary status. Commuters saved portions of their lunches and gave him treats. A bronze statue was erected in 1934 shortly before Hachiko’s death but later had to be melted down for the war effort. After the war, a new statue was created by the son of the original sculptor and remains in front of the Shibuya station.
On March 8, 1935, the lifeless body of Hachiko was found in a Tokyo street. Doctors found worms and yakitori sticks in his body, but determined that he died of terminal cancer.
In commemoration of 90 years after the death of Professor Ueno and 80 years after the death of Hachiko, a statue depicting a joyous reunion was commissioned by the faculty of the agriculture department of the University of Tokyo and unveiled in March of 2015.
The story inspired an American movie, Hachi, A Dog’s Tale, starring Richard Gere released in 2009.
Sources:
http://www.vaakitarescue.org/Hachiko.html
https://www.thedodo.com/dog-hachiko-reunites-in-statue-984401916.html