A loyal dog always accompanied his master to the train station every day. He returned each afternoon to greet him after work. One day, though, his master died at work and never returned to the station. The dog kept on returning to the station. He waited in the same spot for 10 years until his death. He hoped that his beloved master would finally come back one day.

Many people around the world have already heard of this story. This is because of the release of the 2009 Hollywood movie “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” starring Richard Gere. The film was based on the life of the Akita dog Hachiko and his owner Dr. Hidesaburo Ueno.

Just 50 days after being born in Odate city of Akita prefecture, Hachiko was given to Dr. Ueno as a gift in December 1923. Dr. Ueno taught at the Agriculture Department of Tokyo Imperial University for more than 20 years. The institution is now known as the University of Tokyo. He was a celebrated scholar in the field of agricultural engineering, particularly in studying irrigation, drainage, and reclamation engineering.

Forming a special bond with his master, Hachiko always go to the Shibuya train station to meet his master before and after his work. Unbeknownst to Hachiko, Dr. Ueno suffered from a cerebral hemorrhage and suddenly died in May 1925 while giving a lecture. Hachiko faithfully waited for the return of his master every day until his death on March 8, 1935. His extreme loyalty became famous in Japan, resulting in a bronze statue of Hachiko being erected at the Shibuya station. Nowadays, the area is used as a popular meeting point for young people and the statue is a popular landmark for tourists. 

I have seen Hachiko’s statue a lot of times. When I heard about a statue depicting the dog finally meeting his master, I was excited to see it. It was constructed last year inside the University of Tokyo to celebrate the 90th and 80th death anniversary of Dr. Ueno Hachiko respectively. And during our meeting last Friday, I had the chance to see the statue. In contrast to the lone, sad presence of Hachiko in Shibuya, the reunion statue captures the happy moment. It is immortalized every time Hachiko meets his master, Hidesaburo.