Do you know the story of Japan’s most famous dog? His name was Hachi, an Akita dog who was owned by a university professor in the 1920’s in Tokyo. Every day, Hachi accompanied the professor to Shibuya Station, and in the evenings, the man would come back to find the dog waiting faithfully, a happy expression on his face. This continued for years, until one day, the man died suddenly while away from home. Loyal Hachi waited for his master to return for ten 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 citizens, er, until it had to be melted down during World War II. But it was replaced after the war ended, and is now one of the most famous landmarks in Japan. Richard Gere is in Tokyo right now to promote the opening of his new film, Hachi: A Dog’s Story, a full-blown Hollywood film about Japan’s most famous dog. (Hachi is better known by the name of Hachiko, the koh suffix being used for people or animals who we’re very close to.)
