Public Art Around The World

More Than Just The Plaque

Hachiko statue

Hachiko statue

Public Art: Hachiko statue

Also Known As: chūken Hachikō (忠犬ハチ公) “faithful dog Hachikō”

Sculptor: © Takeshi Ando

Description: If any statue will make you cry, this one will. This is the bronze statue of the famous dog Hachiko (10th November 1923- 8th March 1935),  an Akita dog who spent nearly 10 years at the Shibuya Station waiting for his master to return. The faithful dog, who was unaware his master had died, refused to leave. He became a national symbol of loyalty and fidelity both during his life and following his death. The simple bronze statue of Hachiko is cherished worldwide.

Date Unveiled:  The original Hachiko statue by Teru Ando was unveiled in April 1934. Hachiko was present at this unveiling. Sadly,  due to the outbreak of WWII, the statue had to be melted down and made into ammunition for the war effort. 14 years later a new statue was commissioned. This time it would be created by the original sculptor’s son Takeshi Ando. This statue was unveiled in August 1948.

Location: To find Hachiko statue, just look for a crowd outside the Hachikō-guchi exit of Shibuya Station, Tokyo, Japan.

Background to Hachiko: In 1923 a golden brown puppy was born at a farm in Ōdate in the Akita Prefecture. At the same time, Professor  Hidesaburō Ueno was teaching in the agriculture science department at the Tokyo University. He had long talked to his students and colleagues about getting an Akita puppy as a pet, but they were rare and hard to find. When one of his students told him of this puppy, he decided to inquire. 

The puppy was beautiful and he instantly fell in love. Naming the new puppy was easy for the professor. He noticed that the puppy’s legs were slightly crooked and resembled the kanji symbol for the number 8 (八), which in Japanese is pronounced Hachi. So the cute little puppy with the bow legs was given the name Hachiko.

Hachiko settled into his new home in Shibuya, where he was treated as a member of the family. The dog soon learnt his master’s daily routine of catching a train to work in the morning and returning at night. Before long Hachiko was a familiar sight at the Shibuya Train station. Hachiko would walk to the station with his master in the morning and then return home and wait until the afternoon. Then he would return to the station and patiently wait for the professor to disembark from the 3pm train. The two would then walk home together. This continued until the fateful day on the 21st of May, 1925.

Hachiko, as usual, was waiting for the train to pull in, but much to his surprise his master didn’t disembark. He sat patiently as each train pulled in and then departed, waiting for that familiar face of the professor. What Hachiko didn’t know was that Professor Ueno had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage that day, whilst giving a lecture, and had collapsed and died. Hachiko waited until midnight when the last train pulled in.

Each day from then on Hachiko would return to the station and wait. For 9 years, 9 months and 15 days in rain, hail, snow or shine, people would see Hachiko patiently watching and waiting for his master to disembark from the train at Shibuya Station. A newspaper article published in 1932 about Hachiko’s story had quite the impact. People from near and far began bringing food and treats for the faithful dog. He soon became a living national treasure.

In 1934 the city of Shibuya unveiled a statue of the much-loved dog outside the train station. Hachiko, now old and very ill, was in attendance.  

On the 8th of March, 1935, as a light snow fell, Hachiko lay down at the train station, where he always waited for his master and died. The nation mourned.

Following his death, a day of mourning was declared. Thousands of Japanese turned out to pay their respects, including the devastated railway staff who had looked after the pooch for so many years. Hachiko’s body was cremated and his ashes buried at Aoyama Cemetery, next to his beloved master Professor Ueno. 

 

Things You May Not Know About the Hachiko Statue:

Around 2016 a stray cat began visiting the statue every day, despite the massive crowds. The cat can be seen sleeping at the feet of Hachiko.

The original statue was by sculptor Teru Ando. His son, Takeshi Ando, would recreate the statue 14 years later.

The entrance to Shibuya Station, where the statue resides, is named “Hachikō-guchi” (Hachiko’s Entrance).

Controversy: Despite Professor Ueno never having married, he did have a partner of 10 years named Yaeko Sakano. When he died she was required to leave the home they shared, as she had no rights to his assets under the civil laws. This left both her and Hachiko homeless. When Ueno’s students heard of her situation they raised money to support her. She would often return to Shibuya to visit Hachiko.

Prior to her death in 1961 she had requested to be buried with Professor Ueno at Aoyama Cemetery. Despite this, she was buried at a temple in Taito.

It was in 2013, on the 90th anniversary of Hachiko’s birth, the story of  Yaeko Sakano came to light. Sho Shiozawa, a curator at the Shibuya Memorial Museum, was instrumental in getting both the families of Sakano and Ueno to agree to have Yaeko Sakano’s ashes buried with the professor and Hachiko. On the 19th of May 2016 following negotiations with the Aoyama Cemetery, Hachiko’s family were finally reunited.  

Trivia:

When the journalist researched the story about Hachiko, he discovered there were only 30 Japanese Akita purebred dogs still existing in Japan,  including Hachiko.

Hachiko’s fur was preserved, following his death, and he is now on permanent display at the National Science Museum of Japan in Ueno, Tokyo.

When Helen Keller travelled to Japan in 1937 she mentioned her fascination for the Akita dog. In response, she was presented with the first two Akitas to enter the US.

On the 8th of March every year a solemn ceremony is held at Shibuya Station in honour of Hachiko.

In 1994 an old recording of Hachiko barking was digitised by the Nippon Cultural Broadcasting and played to millions of radio listeners.

A community bus in Shibuya is nicknamed the “Hachiko-bus”.

In 2011, scientists were able to conclude the cause of death of Hachiko. He had both terminal cancer and a worm infection. Inside his stomach was also 4 yakitori skewers but they were not related to the cause of death.

On the 9th of March 2015, the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Tokyo unveiled a bronze statue depicting Ueno finally returning home to a waiting Hachikō. Hachiko is depicted jumping up to greet his master with such joy on his face.

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