THE LEGEND OF HACHIKO
One day in January, 1924, Eizaburo Ueno, a professor at the University of Tokyo, received a gift from a former student - an Akita puppy. Professor Ueno fell quickly in love andnamed his new companion Hachi. This is the Japanese word for “eight,” a number representing goodfortune, comfort, and confidence, all of which foreshadow the story of this Akita’s life.For several years, Professor Ueno had been commuting from Shibuya station to the university. Now Hachiwas beside him each morning. Because dogs were not allowed on trains, the professor had to leave Hachibehind, with a gentle pat on the head and a promise to return. Through the day, Hachi sat on the platform,
waiting until the professor’s evening train pulled in and the two reunited for their walk home. Before long,hundreds of commuters were talking about this regal dog who sat attentively, waiting for his master.For 16 months, Hachi’s daily wait continued as usual. Then one day in May 1925, Professor Ueno suffereda fatal stroke while at the university. News of the professor’s death reached people at Shibuya. But Hachicontinued to wait, as all the trains pulled in and left without his master. Still waiting when the last trainpulled away, Hachi had to be escorted off the platform. It is unclear where he went that night, the first of many mysteries, but next morning Hachi surprised everyone when he showed up at the station at exactly thesame time he had arrived all previous days with the professor. He waited throughout the day. After the lasttrain left, Hachi was again escorted from the platform, slipping into the night. Every morning, he returned tothe station at the same time and waited again.Train stations are busy places, and an Akita is noticeable, especially when he sits looking at trains with ahopeful expression. The story of Hachi spread up and down the train line, as people got off at variousstations and described what was happening at Shibuya. Every commuter knew Hachi’s patience was futile,but they were struck by his unwavering loyalty and hope, and the respect he appeared to be paying to hismaster.Akita fanciers love to recount this story. For them, Hachi represents the best of their breed. Patricia Mills,who owns six Akitas and is active in the Akita Club of America, says she recognizes the character thatmade Hachi a celebrity rather than a nuisance at the train station. “Throngs of school children were pullingon him, petting him, hugging him,” she explains. Even though Hachi wanted to focus on the trains, heshowed no aggression. “When he was tired of it, he would just walk away and find a quiet corner to wait in,rather than growl or lash out,” Mills says. “Tolerance and patience epitomize the breed. Hachi representseverything we expect from Akitas today.”Sherry Wallis, a researcher and historian of Akitas, says there are currents below the surface of this story.“In the mid-twenties,” she says, “a national movement to recognize and preserve native Japanese dogs wasgaining momentum. This was building all the time the professor and Hachi were walking to the station.”Akitas, native to Japan, had a special role to play in this effort, and Hachi arrived on the scene at just theright moment.For the first six years, Hachi’s story spread by word of mouth. But in 1931, it reached Hirokichi Saito, awriter with a mission to make more people aware of the importance of native Japanese dogs. Since the early1920s, Saito had been searching for prime Akita examples, ones with pointed ears, curled tails, muscularnecks, and an attractive demeanor. Tatsuo Kimura, who bred and showed Akitas for many years and nowtranslates Japanese writings about the breed, says Saito traveled to the far north of Japan, to Odate, whereAkitas originated. “He met with the mayor of Odate, but they only had three dogs with the standing ears andcurled tails.” The same was true throughout Japan, frustrating Saito’s search. “People were not yet interestedin developing the pure Akita,” Kimura says. “But then Saito came back to Tokyo, and he heard about thisone Akita waiting at the train station every day for his master.”Hopeful, Saito went to Shibuya to see Hachi for himself. He was not disappointed. Hachi was not only anAkita, but a perfect representative. Recognizing the potential of this story, Saito wrote several articles, thefirst titled, “Faithful Dog Awaits Return of Master Dead for Seven Years,” which appeared in Japan’slargest daily newspapers. He connected Hachi’s loyalty, with all its emotional depth, to the larger goal of revitalizing Japanese interest in native dogs. His articles fueled wild interest in Hachi’s story. That sameyear, the Japanese government declared Akitas to be a “Natural Monument” and encouraged people toembrace and preserve them. Suddenly, it was not only commuters who saw Hachi each day. Travelers fromall directions now made special trips to be near the famous Akita. People believed that touching his furwould imbue them with respect, and Hachi, always patient, never grew weary of the attention. Wallis says,
“He became a touchstone for a society. He represented the best of Japanese character, and it all justcrystallized in his story.”Early 1930’s Japan was marked by the Great Depression, and nationalist sentiment was accelerating. Takingnote of the positive reaction people had to Hachi’s story, the government created Hachi-related lessons forschool textbooks. Yasuko Fukumi grew up in Japan and was a young girl when Hachi’s story spread. Herfamily did not have a dog, and she is not a fancier, yet she clearly remembers those 2
nd
-grade poems andessays. “We had ethics classes: be honest, be sincere, be pure, be faithful. Hachi came in for the ‘befaithful’ part. It was very important to us, and we all tried to be faithful.” She smiles, adding, “Maybe notquite like Hachi, but we tried to be faithful to our teachers, our parents, our friends.”In those economically difficult years, owning a dog in Japan was limited to wealthier people with enoughincome for care and feeding. Hachi became an entire nation’s pet, giving anyone a chance to experience thehuman-dog bond. Mills says, “Every type of person, at all economic levels, could go to Shibuya station andtouch this Akita. And throngs of people did it.”But what made people choose to make the trek to Shibuya? Wallis believes it is because Hachi exemplifiedloyalty without overwrought emotion, a valuable combination in Japanese culture. “Akitas project self-confidence,” she says. “They are poised and composed. They just demand attention this way. I can see anAkita sitting in the middle of the station, just waiting. Definite loyalty, but no separation anxiety.”Fukumi says it is difficult to pin down exactly what gave Hachi such universal appeal. “The whole thingwas just so precious,” she explains. “It gave you something you could hold onto in your heart and mind.Hachi had such a clever mind, and he was sensitive. We heard lots of animal stories as children, but Hachiwas top dog. Hachi was very cute, while being very masculine as well.”Many people wanted to claim a connection to Hachi, and his mysterious disappearance each evening leftroom for imagination. The professor’s neighbor claimed that Hachi mated with her Airedale Terrier,producing puppies. Others made claims to Hachi’s progeny, but this was long before parentage tests.Various people reported that Hachi lived with them at times, including the Uenos’ gardener. Mr. Kimurasays Hachi returned in 1932 to the professor’s home. The professor’s widow took Hachi to a dog show,where the famous Akita was carefully measured. Mr. Saito published those measurements, as part of hiseffort to document perfect breed characteristics. Even when verified, these scenes were short-lived. Hachisoon reclaimed his mystique, disappearing again into the night.The mysteries are what attracted author Lesléa Newman to Hachi. Newman was surprised that no otherAmerican writer had given Hachi’s story full treatment in a children’s book, so she decided to explore it.The result was
Hachiko Waits,
which won the 2005 “Best Fiction Book of the Year” award from the DogWriters Association of America. The book relies on historically accurate scenes describing what it was liketo see Professor Ueno and Hachi arrive together at Shibuya, how it felt to see Hachi waiting alone, loyally,every day.Just as he weaved his way into the minds of 1930s Japan, Hachi captured Newman’s imagination. “I knew adog could change my life, but I never thought a dog from 20 years before I was born could also change mylife,” she says. “The whole time I worked on this book, I was obsessed and didn’t do anything else.”Newman tested her book on readers who know about Akitas and Japan. She was pleased when one readerresponded with a tear in her eye. That was Yasuko Fukumi. “I wanted to honor this dog,” Newman says,“but I also wanted to honor Japanese culture. It meant so much when Miss Fukumi said my book remindsher of her childhood.”Newman says certain mysteries about Hachi never cleared up. “I knew he was at the train station the same
time every day, but beyond that there were rumors and hearsay, a lot of silence and empty spaces.” Newmanrealized it was better to leave them alone. “Those points I left to the reader’s imagination. I was able tocreate a quiet book, with a Zen-like quality. I could show the white empty spaces in his life when his masterwas gone.”In 1934, a statue of Hachi was erected at Shibuya Station. Less than a year later, in April 1935, 10 yearsafter he began his ritual, Hachi died waiting for Professor Ueno. By evening, news spread along the rail line.A full Buddhist ceremony commenced, lasting 49 days. “As far as we know, no other dog ever had thathonor in Japan,” Mills says. Hachi’s name was officially changed to “Hachiko.” As Kimura explains, “The -ko ending is an honor in Japanese culture, like calling someone ’sir’ in England. It’s usually reserved forpeople.”In 1937, inspired by Hachiko, Helen Keller came to Japan and took home an Akita pup. Keller broughtHachiko’s story to America, but even more, she introduced Americans to Akitas by describing the breed’spositive attributes in her writings and her lectures.Japan was soon engulfed in World War II. Hachiko’s statue was melted down for ammunition. After thewar, Japanese people sought meaningful symbols, and Hachiko’s story was revived. In 1948, a joint effortbetween children in Japan and California raised money for a new Hachiko statue, erected at ShibuyaStation. Today, couples often “go to Hachiko” to express their loyalty. Based on the power of Hachiko’sstory, and Keller’s mission, American interest in Akitas burgeoned, leading to the formation of the AkitaClub of America in 1956 and AKC approval in 1972. In more recent years, as American Akita fanciers takea fresh look at the form and character of their breed, Hachiko’s story has gained renewed prominence.Kimura says, “People are paying attention again. Hachiko is a good model, physically and mentally, if youwant to breed to the Akita standard.”Beyond the straight facts, Akita breeders emphasize that Hachiko’s story has subtle, emotional resonance.Fukumi says this story should also be re-examined by non-fanciers. She complains that Hachiko’s image hasbecome commercialized, losing its real meaning. “There are Hachiko cookies, Hachiko toys, Hachiko beer.That may be why some people go to Shibuya station today, but to me what’s important it that he was abeautiful dog, a clever dog, a loyal dog.”
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