Ateneo De Naga high school 1980

Those who do not remember history are bound to live through it again.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Unwavering Loyalty

Back in 1924, there was a Japanese gentleman who lived in Tokyo named Hidesabura Ueno. He worked as a professor in the agriculture department at the University of Tokyo. One day he brought to his house a pure breed Akita dog named Hachiko.

Hachiko seemed very close to his owner because he always waited for him at the front door of their house when Mr. Ueno is leaving for work. At the end of the day, Hachiko would wait for his owner to return from work at the nearby Shibuya train station.

The pair continued this routine until one day in May 1925. While giving a lecture in a class at the University, Mr. Ueno suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died. His relatives buried Mr. Ueno at a cemetery at Minami-Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo.

Unaware of his master’s demise, Hachiko waited at the Shibuya train station. Hachiko continually waited everyday for his dead master’s return for the next nine years. It is an amazing sight to see Hachiko appear at the station precisely when the train is due to arrive.

Hachiko was given away after his master’s death but he would routinely escape, showing up time and again at his old master’s house. Eventually, Hachiko realized that his master does not live at the old house anymore and so he waited for him everyday at the Shibuya train station hoping for his return.

Hachiko presence at the Shibuya station became a permanent sight to the people who ride the train. Some commuters, who have seen Hachiko and his master at the station before, brought food to Hachiko to nourish him during his wait.

One of Mr. Ueno’s student, who happened to be an expert on the Akita breed dogs, saw Hachiko at the station and followed him back to a house owned by the Kobayashi family. Mr. Kikuzaboro Kobayashi was the former gardener of Mr. Ueno. During his brief visit to the Kobayashi residence, the student was able to learn about Hachiko’s life. The student did a research on the number of Akitas and found that there are only 30 remaining pure bred Akita dogs and one of them is Hachiko.

Over the years, the student visited Hachiko and he eventually wrote several articles about the remarkable loyalty of Hachiko. In 1932, one of the articles was published in Tokyo’s largest newspaper which transformed Hachiko into a national sensation. His faithfulness to his master's memory impressed the people of Japan as a spirit of family loyalty all should strive to achieve. Teachers and parents used Hachiko’s vigil as an example for children to follow. A well-known Japanese artist rendered a sculpture of the dog, and throughout the country a new awareness of the Akita breed grew.

Hachiko died on March 8, 1935. He was found on a street in Shibuya. His heart was infected with filarial worms and 3-4 yakitori sticks were found in his stomach. His stuffed and mounted remains are kept at the National Science Museum of Japan in Ueno, Tokyo.

8 Comments:

Anonymous Bindu said...

Recently I have seen the movie "Hachiko".And I cried like anything.And Mr.Ueno was very lucky to have a dog like that.

11:08 AM  
Anonymous Emmanuel said...

We only wait for great people. Mr Ueno wasn't a great Master but a bucket of love!

6:23 PM  
Anonymous Deepak said...

Very astonished and spellbound to hear about the story of Hachiko and his master.

Feel very sad for Hachiko as he was waiting for his master at the Shibuya station for 11 years.

Eleven years, its too long and very hard to accept. Hope Hachiko and his master reunited in their next lives and enjoyed a wonderful life.

GOD when reversed is DOG. That explains everything. Both GOD and DOG has endless love towards wonderful humanbeings.

Deepak
India

11:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

First time in 34years of my Life I cried my heart out watching this amazing movie... Hope people who watch this care about animals more...

4:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

very inspiring dog! my brother gave us a dog and his name is hachiko and I didnt know this movie so when I watch it I was very touch and now I know the story I am very happy having hachiko to stay with us

9:32 PM  
Anonymous Sammy101 said...

I'm 11 years old and i just finished watching this movie with my dad. My hamster just died 2 days ago and when i saw Hachiko getting old it reminded me of my hamster. I think this dog, and this story is very inspiring to people all over the world. And if you've never seen the movie before... prepare to burst into tears.
R.I.P Sammy

7:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Such a moving movie and an amazing dog. He only lived for 11 years though and i'm glad they made that statue too. R.I.P Hachiko

11:05 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

puta napaiyak ako dito ah... ganda ng story.. such a good dog...

7:06 AM  

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