Hachikō

Hachiko, sometimes known in Japanese as 忠犬ハチ公 (faithful dog Hachiko) was born in November 1923 in the city of Odate, Akita Prefecture. In 1924, he was brought to Tokyo by his owner, Eisaburo Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. During his owner's life, Hachiko would see him off from the front door, and greet him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. Even after Ueno's death in May 1925, Hachiko returned every day to the station to wait for him.

Hachiko's devotion to his lost master moved those around him, who nicknamed him "faithful dog," though some speculate he kept coming back because of the handouts he received from street vendors. In April 1934, a statue in his likeness was erected at Shibuya Station, and Hachiko himself was present at its unveiling. The statue was recycled for the war effort during World War 2, but another statue was erected in August 1947, which still stands, and is an extremely popular meeting-spot. A similar statue stands in Hachiko's hometown, in front of Odate Station.

Hachiko died in March 1935 of filaria. His taxidermied remains are kept at the National Science Museum in Ueno, Tokyo.

Hachiko was the subject of the 1987 movie Hachiko Monogatari