Dogs have lived alongside humans for tens of thousands of years. They protect us, help us in our work and make us friends. This is why the most loyal animals are known as dogs. True, but what does a dog do when its owner dies? Yes, it is necessarily owned by another person, but almost none of them forget their owner. Hachiko’s story is similar to these, but quite different.
A dog named Hachiko came to the door of the subway station where he last saw him every day for 9 years after his owner died and waited. Although his owner never showed up, he continued to wait and eventually died there. The Japanese were so impressed with this story that they both erected a statue of him and filled it up and put it in a museum. Let’s take a closer look at Hachiko’s true story that you won’t be able to hold back your tears.
It all started when a man wanted to adopt an Akita dog:
Born on January 19, 1872 in the Mie province of Japan, Hidesaburō Ueno’s childhood passed in the natural life. Ueno, who loves nature and animals, studied agriculture, progressed in his academic career and started to work as a professor at Tokyo University’s Faculty of Agriculture.
Once interacting with animals, he can never stay away from them again, and so did Ueno. He finally found the Akita dog, which he had dreamed of since he was little, on a farm in rural Tokyo and immediately adopted him. This is how the merger of Hachiko, who was supposed to be born on November 10, 1913, and his owner took place in 1924.
A real friendship began between Hachiko and Ueno:
Ueno named this little dog Hachiko, meaning eighth in Japanese. Hachiko was a purebred white Akita dog and was an incredibly beautiful animal. Hachiko wasn’t the professor’s dog, it was as if he had become a friend. They took care of him all his spare time from school and lived as if they were two halves of an apple.
Of course, as their relationship progressed, they went beyond just playing simple games. Since Hachiko did not want to leave her owner for a moment, she started leaving the house with him every morning and escorting him to the Shibuya Train Station. It had become a morning routine for them now. They were leaving the house together, the professor was stroking his head when he came to the subway door, and Hachiko was returning home.
One evening, the professor got a big surprise:
Professor Ueno left school one evening, as usual, took the subway, got off at his home stop, but unlike usual, he saw his dog, Hachiko. It is not known how he understood it, but probably Hachiko had figured out what time the owner was at the station every evening and what time he came home and came to greet him.
Such was the routine of the duo now. They would leave the house together in the morning, Hachiko would send her to work and return home, and in the evening they would come and pick her up at the subway door and return home together. This routine went on for about a year. Then one day something happened and Ueno didn’t come out of that subway door.
And one day, Ueno did not come out of that door:
Hidesaburō Ueno died on May 21, 1925, in his room at the University of Tokyo, where he was a professor of agriculture, of a heart attack, according to some sources, and a cerebral hemorrhage according to some sources. While everyone welcomed this news with pain, no one thought to give this news to ‘someone’.
That day, as always, Hachiko went to the door of the subway station and eagerly awaited its owner. She waited, waited, waited. But Ueno never came out of that door. Thinking there was a problem, Hachiko went home, but the owner had not gone there either. Hachiko thought it best to go to the subway again in the morning, but Ueno wasn’t there either.
Hachiko waited 9 years for Ueno to come:
After Ueno died, Hachiko was adopted by a horticultural family. He was just as loyal and loving to his new family as Ueno. But their new owners noticed that Hachiko disappeared frequently, even at certain times. When they decided to follow him one day, they found him at the gate of Shibuya Train Station.
Of course, no one understood this situation at first. When Hachiko was there, he was fed by the subway keeper and the shopkeepers around. It was gradually becoming known to the people of the region. It was at this moment that one of Ueno’s students noticed him and understood the situation. Of course, the event was immediately covered by the press and Hachiko received great attention. The Japanese people began to call him Chuken-Hachiko, the faithful Hachiko.
Hachiko finally got his friend:
This wait of Hachiko lasted exactly 9 years. In some sources, it is said that Hachiko never left the door of the subway station for 9 years, but of course this is not physically possible. But we can say with certainty that Hachiko went to the door of that subway at the same time every morning and every evening and waited for hours for Ueno to come.
Hachiko waited a long time, but Ueno never came. Since he didn’t come, he must have thought that I should go to him. Hachiko died alone on March 8, 1935, at the age of 11, right next to the subway station. Hachiko’s story went down in history as one of the world’s greatest stories of loyalty and loyalty.
The Japanese did not neglect to honor Hachiko:
When Hachiko, who had become a kind of national hero, died, scientists began to stuff him and display him as a symbol of loyalty at the Tokyo National Science Museum. A statue of Hachiko was made and placed at the gate of Shibuya Subway Station, where he waited for his life.
Another statue of Hachiko was made and placed next to the grave of his beloved friend Euno, with whom he was finally reunited. In 2015, another statue was made to commemorate the anniversary of the story, showing Ueno and Hachiko playing together.
Two films have also been made about Hachiko:
The first film to tell the story of Hachiko, Hachikô monogatari was made in 1987. The other is the 2009 American movie Hachi: A Dog’s Tale. Both films tell this story in a way that really touches the hearts of the viewers, but as we said, since Hachiko has turned into a kind of national hero for the Japanese, it is possible to meet him in many different productions.
We told the story of the dog Hachiko, who showed a great example of loyalty by waiting for his deceased owner for years. We all know him because he turned into a national hero, but in fact, maybe your Hachiko is looking at you right now while you are reading this article.
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