Remembering Hachiko

By Isa Taariq Mutaliph

Do you have a pet, do you have a pet who has been loyal to you all the time. If yes, that’s so sweet. But does anyone know about a famous dog in Japan. It’s name is Hachiko or Hachi. Hachiko was the national hero to the Japanese. He was so famous that there were movies and books about him.

So why have I chose this topic to talk to you about Hachiko. Why does Hachiko story so famous you may wonder? Well, I am happy you asked because here I will give you the amazing, real and very sad story about Hachiko the dog and today marks his 95 birth anniversary.

History

So basically Hachiko was born November 10 1923. He was adopted by Eizaburo Ueno, who was a professor of Agriculture in Tokyo University in Japan. Ueno was encouraged by his students to adopt Hachiko and was adopted in Odate city in the Akita prefecture of Japan.

Hachiko, or Hachi which became his nickname, and his new owner soon became best friends. Eizaburo loved his dear dog above all and treated him as his son. The two of them were inseparable.

As Hachiko grew up , he was always accompanying his master to station in morning and would always meet him back when he comes back from work.

The incident

One day on May 21, Hachiko usually was sitting by the exit at Shibuya train station waiting for his master to come back. But his owner never showed up…..

Hachiko waited for him long , but it turned out that the professor had suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and died suddenly while at work.

Hachiko was upset and moved in with the former gardener of the Ueno family. But throughout the rest of his ten-year-long life, he kept going to the Shibuya Train Station every morning and afternoon precisely when the train was due to enter the station. He sat there for hours, patiently waiting in vain for the return of his beloved owner who sadly never came back.

Waiting for his master, Hachiko became a main attraction to the people passing Shibuya station. A Japanese newspaper reporter picked up the story of Hachiko in 1932 and published it, which led Hachiko becoming a celebrity all over Japan.

People started calling him “Chuken-Hachiko”, which means “Hachiko – the faithful dog“.The story of the dog that never gave up gained a lot of attention also in national media, inspiring many people from all over the world to visit Hachiko at Shibuya Train Station to offer him treats. He touched the hearts of the people and soon became their hero.

Death

Hachiko died in March 8, 1935, in Shibuya station. The cause of death of Hachikō: the dog had both Terminal Cancer and a falaria infection. There were also four yajitori skewers in Hachikō’s stomach, but the skewers did not damage his stomach or cause his death.

Hachiko’s Legacy

Hachiko was cremated in front of his master’s cemetery. The remains of Hachiko was stuffed and is currently on permanent display at the national science museum in Ueno, Tokyo. Now there’s a monument of Hachiko next to his owner`s tomb in Aoyama cemetery in Tokyo.

The people of Japan with the likeness and love for Hachiko built a bronze statue in Shibuya station.There has actually been made two Hachiko bronze statues in Tokyo. The first one was removed during the World War II and melted as a source of metal.

Today the Hachiko bronze statue is a popular attraction outside of Shibuya train station, especially among young Japanese.

On March 9, 2015, the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Tokyo unveiled a bronze statue depicting Ueno returning to meet Hachikō at the university of Tokyo, Japan to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Hachikō’s death. The statue was sculpted by Tsutomo Ueda from Nagoya and depicts a very excited Hachikō jumping up to greet his master at the end of a workday. Ueno is dressed in a hat, suit, and trench coat, with his briefcase placed on the ground.

Each year on March 8, Hachikō’s devotion is honored with a solemn ceremony of remembrance at Tokyo’s Shibuya railroad station. Hundreds of dog lovers often turn out to honor his memory and loyalty.

Also on the wall of the Shibuya Station, there is a huge beautiful mosaic artwork of Hachiko.

Movie

There has been movies of Hachiko, one was made by Japan and was made by Hollywood : Hachi : A Dogs Tale starring actor Richard Gere. There has been a movie based on Hachiko in Telugu too.