Do you know the story of Japan’s most famous dog? His name was Hachi, an Akita dog owned by a university professor in the 1920s in Tokyo. Every day, Hachi accompanied the professor to Shibuya Station, and in the evenings, the man would find the dog waiting there faithfully for his return. This continued for years, until one day the man died suddenly while away from home. Loyal Hachi waited for his master to return for nine years, wagging his tail in front of the station every afternoon until he, too, eventually died. Tokyo residents erected a bronze statue in Hachi’s memory, which would forever represent the loyalty of the dog in the minds of the people, er, until it had to be melted down for ammunition during World War II. But the statue was replaced after the war ended, and visited by none other than Helen Keller, a great lover of the Akita breed. Mrs. J-List and I recently watched the U.S. remake of the film about Hachi, and thought it was really well done — we recommend you check it out. If you want to wear a really cool image of this “Japanese Soul Dog,” we’ve got a great Hachiko T-shirt you might want to see.(The image below is my attempt at creating “moe Hachiko.” Why are there are no anime series or games about a dog-dog who is waiting, waiting for something, and we find that she’s the spirit of Hachi?)
Faithful Hachiko, the most loyal dog in Japan
