Hachi Spirit Blog

On the morning of March 8, 1935, the loyal Akita’s body was discovered in an alley on the east side of Shibuya Station, near Inari Bridge. On the day Hachi died, his necropsy was conducted by a team of veterinarians at the College of Agriculture of the Imperial University of Tokyo. It was quite unusual to conduct […]

The October 4, 1932 newspaper story about Hachi touched people’s hearts and Hachi was referred to as the Loyal Dog Hachi-kō. Along with his popularity, a Hachi-kō bronze statue was created in April 1934, while Hachi was alive. This was not in line with tradition because a statue was unusually made after a person (or a dog […]

It took a determined person to change the “sad plight” of Hachi at Shibuya Station. After learning that Japanese native dogs, including Akitas, were on the verge of extinction, Saitō Hirokichi (1899–1964), an art curator by profession, founded the Society for Preservation of Japanese Dogs in May 1928. Saitō Hirokichi Discovers his Mission Saitō was from […]

Most people did not know why Hachi went to Shibuya Station every day. The former gardener of Professor Ueno, Kobayashi, cared for Hachi in the later years. Kobayashi registered Hachi at the local police station and made sure that Hachi wore a collar and harness with an identification tag. Nevertheless, because the loyal Akita went to […]

In one instant, life suddenly shifted for Hachi. After Professor Ueno’s death, Hachi lived a life of exile for a while. Because she was not legally married to Professor Ueno and had no inheritance rights, his widow Yae had to vacate their residence. Overnight, Hachi had no home. The Search for Hachi’s Perfect Home It was […]

When Hachi was born, he had no idea what was in store for him. In fact, none of us ever do. And while that can make you feel like everything’s out of control, that your entire life is one big guessing game, the exact opposite is actually true. Not only do you have complete control […]