In Japan, many people have gone to the Shibuya Scramble Crossing in Shibuya to visit the Hachiko Statue.
For those not familiar with the story, Hachiko is an Akita dog and the pet of Professor Hidesaburo Ueno, who worked at the agriculture Engineering, Irrigation, Drainage and Reclamation Engineering department at the University of Tokyo.
At the end of each day, Hachiko would come to Shibuya Station to wait and greet for his master.
But in May 1925, Professor Ueno suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died and never returned to the train station where Hachiko was waiting.
Every day, for the next nine years, nine months and 15 days, Hachiko waited for Professor Ueno’s return, coming right to the station when the train arrived.
For those who were familiar with seeing Professor Ueno with his pet and those who read the Asahi Shimbun article about the dog in 1932, many people would bring food to Hachiko as the dog waited. But because of the article about the dog’s loyalty, Hachiko would become a national symbol of loyalty in Japan.
The bronze statue at Shibuya is where Hachiko waited and continues to be a popular tourist spot. In 2015, a bronze statue was erected at the University of Tokyo’s agriculture department featuring Hachiko being greeted by Professor Ueno and the location has now become a draw to the university who want to see the statue.
When Dr. Ueno commuted on foot to Komaba (where the Faculty of Agriculture was then located), he would be accompanied by Hachiko. Dr. Ueno passed away suddenly in the campus on May 21, 1925.
The statue by Tsutomu Ueda is dedicated to Dr. Ueno and is of him being surprised to see Hachi waiting to welcome him at the ticket gate of Shibuya Station.
If you happen to be in the Bunko area, definitely take a walk through the University of Tokyo and check out this cool Dr. Ueno and Hachiko monument.
