Hachikō (ハチ公, Hachikō? November 10, 1923–March 8, 1935), known in Japanese as chūken Hachikō (忠犬ハチ公, chūken Hachikō? "faithful dog Hachikō"), was an Akita dog born in the city of Odate, Akita Prefecture remembered for his loyalty to his master.
In 1924, Hachikō, an akito dog, was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner's life Hachikō saw him off from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925, when Professor Ueno didn't return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day. He died and never returned to the train station where his friend was waiting. Hachikō was given away after his master's death, but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. After time, Hachikō apparently realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachikō waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he didn't see his friend among the commuters at the station. The permanent fixture at the train station that was Hachikō.. like Dog Monday. Rilla of __. soldier Jem, still not home after all trainfuls of returning soldiers stop. this story is in me, the train, the platform, the dog waiting at the station. and! the flash across the platform Dog Monday old? Dog Monday slow? This continued for 10 years, with Hachikō appearing only in the evening time, precisely when the train was due at the station.
One of Ueno's former students (who had become something of an expert on the Akita breed) saw the dog at the station and followed him to the Kobayashi home where he learned the history of Hachikō's life. Shortly after this meeting, the former student published a documented census of Akitas in Japan. His research found only 30 purebred Akitas remaining, including Hachikō from Shibuya Station.
Professor Ueno's former student returned frequently to visit the dog and over the years published several articles about Hachikō's remarkable loyalty.
In April 1934, a bronze statue in his likeness was erected at Shibuya Station, and Hachikō himself was present at its unveiling. The statue was recycled for the war effort during World War II. After the war, Hachikō was not forgotten. In 1948 The Society for Recreating the Hachikō Statue commissioned Takeshi Ando, son of the original artist who had since died, to make a second statue. The new statue, which was erected in August 1948, still stands and is an extremely popular meeting spot. The station entrance near this statue is named "Hachikō-guchi", meaning "The Hachikō Exit", and is one of Shibuya Station's five exits.
via "Tis the Season (asllvn December 23, 2008): The leading Mental Health Break is the following: [soldier welcomed home by his dogs].A reader emails to note another celebrated [wkp /Hachiko] canine love
