Throwback travel: A dog's tale in Japan
I saw an article about Japan and it reminded me of this story. I thought it may be good to have #throwbacktravel and recall life lessons on a Saturday.
I must have buried my head in the sand that I never knew about a dog that was honored with a statue until I went to Japan with my friends in late of 2016. I did not even know that there was a movie about it. When we got back home, I intentionally looked for and watched the movie. Please don't ask where I've been that I did not know a Richard Gere movie in 2009. The movie entitled “Hachi: A dog’s tale” was set in the US but the real Hachiko story happened in Japan.
This is the dog's statue outside the Shibuya train station in Tokyo. I took this photo last November 2016.
In the movie, Professor Parker Wilson found an abandoned dog at the train station. He brought it home and did his best to trace the owner. In one of Prof. Wilson’s inquiries, he found out that the dog’s tag means number 8 or “hachi” in Japanese. However in spite of his efforts to find the owner, he failed. Nobody claimed the dog so his family decided to adopt it and call it Hachi.
The professor and the dog became too close up to the point of Hachi waiting for his master at the train station every day. When Prof. Wilson suddenly died of heart attack, Hachi did not stop waiting for its master by the train station. Prof. Wilson’s son and family adopted the dog but the dog was not living its life under their watch. The dog found its way back to the train station and waited there every day for ten years until its dying day.
I cried while watching the movie. It was inspired by a true-to-life story of a dog and its master’s extraordinary bond in Odate, Japan. The dog Hachiko was born in 1923. It was very loyal to its master Prof. Eusaburo Euno that it waited for him from work every day at the Shibuya train station. When Prof. Euno died in 1925, Hachiko returned to the train station to wait perseveringly every day until it died in 1935. Its stuffed body is on display at National Science Museum in Ueno, Tokyo. In honor of the dog’s loyalty, Hachiko’s bronze statue was put up on his waiting spot outside the Shibuya train station.
Many times we hear or read about dog being man’s best friend. Here is clear proof, even vouched with a bronze statue, of an extraordinary bond between human and animal. If animals can be faithful and loyal, certainly can human beings.
Oh, let me add that Hachi became the hero of Prof. Wilson's grandson. Go look for a copy of the movie. It is worth watching with the family. 😊
This was taken at around ten-o'clock side of the statue. At my back is the Shibuya Crossing.
This is the Shibuya Crossing. It is called The Times Square of Tokyo, I think it is because of its heavy lit-and-bustle traffic.
Happy weekend folks!
Nice story.. have been read and watched some movie about hachiko in any version but I like the comic or manga the best.. touching😊 but you're lucky to have visit the statue.
At first, I was trying to figure out the statue because I thought it does not look like a dog. However, I was surprised that it has more likes than my photo on Facebook. They like the dog better than my face. 😂
Hahaha.. what an ironic 😂 they knew about the famous dog story and you are easy to look in the real life I supposed😊 it is bronze statue right? Well.. some of its part changing colours due to tourist who loves to puk puk the dog
Yes, they say it's bronze. I am not sure if what I think as "deformity" is due to tourists pounding or hitting the statue but the statue itself seem old.
Bronze is a dark colour metal and immortal😊 yeaah deformity is the right word.. forgive me @macoolette, english is not my first language😁
No worries. It sometimes happen to me that I describe the word instead of just saying that word directly. 😊
I've heard of that story about the dog Hachi but I haven't watched the movie yet. I hope I could find a dvd copy or watch it online. I love touching stories like that. When Animals feel the love and care from humans, they also give the same love in return. Animals deserve respect too just like us humans. I grew up in a family with a heart for animals especially my father he's very kind to animals. We have cats and dogs at home and we treat them like family. In fact I've been reading a new novel these days about the street-wise cat. I might write a book review about it soon when I'm done reading. Really cool post macoolette! =) Thank you!
It is a different case in our family because we are split in terms of treating animals. Though we all take care of our pets, my mother and I are more patient than my elder brothers when the animals mess up.
You can try searching for the movie online or yes, try DVD version.
Book review is a good source of blog topic so yes, you can write a blog about what you are reading. I am actually thinking of doing so with the books that I read. However, the summarized story that is left in my head may just be a paragraph so I may need to review them first. 😊
Thanks for your compliments. I am glad that my blog is worth reading. 😊
Congratulations @macoolette! You have completed the following achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on the badge to view your Board of Honor.
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPI watched the movie about this story who's played by Richard Gere. Very nice place and good post.
Yes, the movie is very good. I'm glad you had the chance to watch it.
Thanks for dropping by my post. 😊
I watched the movie too @macoolette many years ago and it brought tears to my eyes (and of course, it had Richard Gere in there 😊) Thank you for reminding me of this movie. I'll go watch it again.
It looks like we are both crybabies, huh? Crying just because of a movie? 😃
You know what? I actually watched it gain when I wrote this blog. It is something that you watch every now an then and don't get bored of it.
Haha yah... I cry for anything that touches the heart and soul, movies, reality shows, documentaries, anything! If someone does a good deed for another, my eyes will start to well up, if it is a touching love story, it will start too. O dear.. hehe.
You have a soft heart! Hehehe...