Hachiko – the friendship of a loyal dog

Hachiko – The friendship of a loyal dog – If you have been in Japan, walking in the Shibuya area of ​​Tokyo, you have surely come across the statue of Hachiko, an Akita dog that is remembered for its loyalty to its owner. It is the symbol of Shibuya Station.

Its owner was Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor at the University of Tokyo who adopted Hachiko in 1924. From that moment on, every day they went together to Shibuya station where Professor Ueno took the train, and then returned together at the end of the day. .

But one day the teacher no longer returned. He suffered a brain hemorrhage on the train home and passed away. Meanwhile, Hachiko waited, like every day, for the return of his owner.

Hachiko returned to the station every day and awaited the return of his owner. This routine continued for years, so the station staff and frequent travelers began to take notice.

The newspapers were spreading the news of a loyal dog waiting for the return of its owner. In 1934, a year before his death, a bronze statue was erected in his honor, right in front of Shibuya Station. One of the station employees, Yoshizo Osawa, gave the photo to his eldest daughter, Nobue Yamaguchi. “My father loved dogs,” Yamaguchi commented. He told him at the time, “Hachi comes to our station every day and we share our lunch with him.”

Bronze statues of Hachiko and his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno, have been put up in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, which was Ueno’s hometown.

In 1994, “Japan Cultural Station” or “Nippon Cultural Broadcasting” was able to restore a recording of Hachiko’s barking from a record that was broken into several pieces. In the video below you can listen to the recording. The quality of the video is not very high but you can hear his barking around 1:42.

You can also find a Hachiko figurine at the Natural Science Museum in Ueno, Tokyo.

Hachiko also appears on the signage of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. This Shibuya notice indicates that this place (home, office or business) is safe for children and the elderly who are in trouble.

It’s a sad story but the loyalty to its owner has impressed many people, and it reminds us of the spirit of loyalty to our family that perhaps we should all aspire to ^^;