In the year
1924, a professor at the University of Tokyo by the name Hidesaburõ Ueno adopted
an abandoned dog. He took him in and gave him the name Hachikõ. The dog’s breed
was Akita and it color was golden brown. Hachikõ was so fond of his master that
he used to routinely report daily at the Shibuya Railway Station and wait for
his master to alight in the evening after work.
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| Hachikõ |
Unfortunately,
a year later the professor succumbed to cerebral hemorrhage and passed on.
Thus, he was never to appear at the station, but loyal Hachikõ did not cease
his routine and this he did another 9 years without fail. The beloved owner was
not to return, though. Other commuters could not help it but watch and feel
sorry for the helpless dog and so they started feeding him. A student of Ueno
even did an article about Hachikõ.
The people
of Japan would even refer to Hachikõ whenever they needed to encourage their
children. Hachikõ’s routine was, however, to come to an ultimate end when he
also died of infections coupled with terminal cancer. His remains were not to
be buried and so they were preserved at Japan’s National Science Museum at
Tokyo. Besides that, a Hachikõ’s bronze statue was erected at the Shibuya
Railway Station for his remembrance. To date, dog lovers gather around Shibuya
station each year on April 8th in honor of Hachikõ and his love
towards his master.
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| Hachikõ’s statue |
If touched
by this story, just check out this 2009 movie titled Hachi: A Dog’s Tale.
Adopted from Wikipedia
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