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Hachi: The Most Faithful Dog Ever

Ranked #10,375 in Entertainment, #128,282 overall

Who is Hachi?

Hachi (short for Hachiko) was an Akita living in 1920's Japan with his owner, Hidesaburo Ueno. Everyday, Hachi would greet Ueno at the train station around five o'clock in the evening to walk home with him. One day, Ueno suffered a stroke at the university he taught at and died. Ueno never returned to greet his friend.

Even though Hachi was given away several times to different owners, he would continuously escape and head to the train station to await Ueno. He eventually became a town fixture and would be fed by the daily commuters to keep him alive. Hachi would return to the station every evening for the next ten years until he died on March 8, 1935 at age 11.

The Legacy Begins

Hachiko's story was first researched by one of Ueno's former students, whose name is not known. He had seen the dog at the station and followed him to his home where he learned the story. Afterwards, he began to write articles that spoke of the dog and his extreme loyal to his deceased owner. One article eventually made its way into Tokyo's largest newspaper, and the dog became a famous icon.

Today, parents teach their children the story of Hachi as an example of family bonding and devotion.

In 1934, a bronze statue was of Hachi was made and placed at the train station exit that Hachi would wait for his master at. The dog himself was witness to this statue's reveal. Unfortunately, the statue was used to make ammunition during World War II. Another statue was made and erected in 1948. It is a very popular meeting spot and every year the anniversary of Hachi's death, he is honored with a ceremony.

Hachiko Monogatari DVD

This is the original Hachiko movie (translated as Faithful Dog Hachiko), made in 1987. The film is in Japanese, but here is a link to a Region One DVD that has English subtitles.
Hachiko Movie (1987)
Click here to buy the English subtitled version of this movie.

Other Hachi Merchandise

Another Hachi movie was made in 2009 starring Richard Gere as Hachi's master. This movie, unlike the 1987 film, takes place in modern day America. Many people who already knew the story of Hachiko did not like this major change in the story, but the film still proves to get the main plot across and provides a very emotional viewing experience. The ending does show a few pictures and tells a few facts about the "movie you've just seen".

There have also been various books written about the famous dog over the years.
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Hachiko's Guestbook

Tell Hachi Hello!

  • ridley88 Mar 12, 2010 @ 9:59 am | delete
    (Hello Hachi) I like this story. Its probably the source material of the Futurama episode where Frye's loyal dog goes to meet him everyday long after he disappears to the future. Its hard to watch that episode because its so sad.
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