Hachiko the Akita dog

Hachiko: The Dog Who Waited 9 Years, 9 Months, and 15 Days

Hachiko, the Akita dog who waited at Shibuya Station

Every afternoon at three o'clock, a cream-colored Akita walked to Shibuya Station in Tokyo and sat outside the east exit. He watched the gate. He waited for a man to step off the train.

That man had been dead for years. Hachiko kept showing up anyway.

A Routine That Became a Legend

Hachiko was born in November 1923 in Akita Prefecture, Japan. He came to live with Professor Hidesaburo Ueno, who taught agriculture at the University of Tokyo. The two fell into a rhythm fast. Every morning, Hachiko walked Ueno to Shibuya Station. Every afternoon at three, he came back for him. Ueno would step off the train, they'd walk home together, and that was life.

His name came from the way he was born. His front legs bent in the shape of the number eight in Japanese. "Hachi" means eight. "Ko" is a term of affection. Hachiko.

May 21st, 1925

Professor Ueno left for work that morning and never came back. He had a cerebral hemorrhage at the university and died at his desk. He was 53 years old.

Hachiko was at Shibuya Station at three o'clock. The train arrived. Ueno wasn't on it. He waited for the next one. And the next.

He came back the next morning. And the morning after that. And every morning for the next nine years, nine months, and fifteen days.

All of Tokyo Knew His Name

The station master started feeding him. Commuters brought food. People who passed through Shibuya every day recognized him and made a point of stopping. In 1932, a writer for a Tokyo newspaper tracked down Ueno's old students and published the full story. After that, it spread everywhere.

People came from other cities just to sit with him at the station. Some of them wept. Hachiko mostly just waited.

Those early years weren't easy for him outside the station. Ueno's family had moved, and he passed between homes that didn't quite take. But Shibuya was constant. That spot by the gate was the one place that still made sense.

March 8th, 1935

He was found that morning near the station. He had died in the night. He was eleven years old, which is a full life for a large dog.

When they found him, he was facing east. That's the direction of Aoyama Cemetery, where Professor Ueno had been buried.

Still waiting.

A bronze statue was cast in 1934, while Hachiko was still alive. It was melted down in 1944 for the war effort. A new one was cast in 1948. It stands at Shibuya Station today, at the exit that now bears his name. It is one of the most visited spots in Tokyo.

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For Dog Lovers

If you want to read more about Hachiko, there are good books out there. This Amazon search will find them. The picture book versions are better than you'd expect.

We also have a full dog collection in the shop if you're shopping for your own dog.

Sources

  • Historical records on Hachiko compiled by the Shibuya Ward Board of Education
  • Pamela S. Turner and Ken Rubin, academic and biographical research on Hachiko
  • The Japan Times, March 1935, coverage of Hachiko's death
  • Aoyama Cemetery records, Tokyo Metropolitan Government

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