An Old Timey Podcast - 98: Hachi: The Most Loyal Dog

Episode Date: April 8, 2026

Hachi was just a puppy when he was adopted by a professor at Tokyo Imperial University. The two bonded instantly. Every day, Hachi greeted Professor Hidesaburo Ueno at the Shibuya Train Station as he came home from work. The pair would walk home together. But when the professor suddenly died, Hachi’s loyalty didn’t. For years, Hachi still went to the train station, waiting for the professor to return.Remember, kids, history hoes always cite their sources! For this episode, Norm pulled from: Fritz, Robb. “History’s a Bitch: A Dog Walk Through Time: Wait for Me.” McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, February 7, 2012. https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/wait-for-me.Itoh, Mayumi. Hachi: The Truth of The Life and Legend of the Most Famous Dog in Japan. Self Published, 2013.MC. “Hachiko’s Droopy Ear.” The House of Two Bows, March 3, 2011. https://shibasenji.wordpress.com/tag/saito-hirokichi/.Perkins School for the Blind. “Helen Keller: A Life with Dogs.” June 24, 2016. https://www.perkins.org/helen-keller-a-life-with-dogs/.Skabelund, Aaron. “Fascism’s Furry Friends: Dogs, National Identity, and Purity of Blood in 1930s Japan.” In The Culture of Japanese Fascism, edited by Alan Tansman, Rey Chow, Harry Harootunian, and Masao Miyoshi. Duke University Press, 2009. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781478090885-008/html.Are you enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Then please leave us a 5-star rating and review wherever you listen to podcasts!Are you *really* enjoying An Old Timey Podcast? Well, calm down, history ho! You can get more of us on Patreon at patreon.com/oldtimeypodcast. At the $5 level, you’ll get a monthly bonus episode (with video!), access to our 90’s style chat room, plus the entire back catalog of bonus episodes from Kristin’s previous podcast, Let’s Go To Court.

Hear ye, hear ye. You are listening to an old-timey podcast. I'm Norman Caruso. And I'm Kristen Caruso. And on this episode, I'll be talking about a loyal dog named Hachi. Oh, Norman. Oh, boy. Everyone, this episode is going to devastate us all.

I've already got that queued up. Ready to go. That's a good thing. As your wife, lover, and friend, I can tell you all, people, this man is He's a broken man. He's been broken all week long, just sobbing, just preparing for this story. Oh, man. Yeah.

Kristen came home from the gym, and she walked into my office. And I was just sobbing. But I powered through for you all. The Ho's. Hey there, History Ho. Why not support our small, sexy, independent podcast on Patreon? For just $5 a month, you'll get our beefy back. catalog of bonus episodes with video.

They're ad-free and amusing. We've got a weirdly funny episode about the man who inspired D.B. Cooper. We've got one about a man who murdered Confederate pirates. Yarg! And ouch. And we've got an episode where my dad tells us about a sexy kidnapper. It's too weird to miss. So support us on Patreon at patreon.com slash old-timey podcast.

That's patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. Thank you. And now we're going to have a bunch of sad hoes on our hands. Who knows how we're going to cope. But before we make all the hose sad, and by the way, please stick around. Don't leave.

If you're in a good mood right now, why would you want to cling to that? Huh? No one wants that. I'll tell you what you do want, though. Some slop. Folks, that's right, if you haven't heard, we are now doing a new segment at the end of each episode

where we offer up some slop to our pig butter investors on Patreon I received a review on it from my father today and after our phone call I jotted down some notes now keep in mind you're going to think maybe this is going to be biased because it's my own father. Nope. Well, let them hear it, Norm. Okay.

My father, my loving, adoring father, who has been on the show, said to me, to my face Chrissy loved the episode great job so funny could have done

with about half of that slop went on for 20 minutes I think we only needed like 10 I am a witness to this conversation shut through the heart

my dad's to blame you give podcast in a bad name so folks that's what my own father says about getting over and supporting us on Patreon

and getting that slop. We hope that you are not quite so harsh or so hateful. I think it's just going to make people sign up even harder. Yeah. Think about it like, wow, Kristen must need a lot of therapy after that phone call. How's she going to afford it? I know. I'll support her on Patreon. I will invest in pig butter. I'm thinking more like, wow, parents don't like this. That means all the cool kids are listening. Norm, are you under the impression that it's in 1995? Yes. And we're all in our jorts with our backwards hat on and we're just trying to be cool. Mm-hmm. We're drinking our squeezes. Oh, yeah. Watching a goofy movie. Okay.

Pizza Hut just got delivered. Oh, and it's back when they had the stuffed crust. It was a better time. That's right. Simpler time. A cheesier time. Speaking of simpler times. You're not going to tell us this awful story, are you? It's time to tell you a story about a dog. Sorry, folks, I delayed it as long as I could. You did your best. I did. Oh, Kristen, I'm getting something. Hang on.

Oh, breaking news. Okay. Everyone's going to want to hear this. Sure, yeah. Today's episode is about a dog. It is in many ways a happy story. But I will warn you, it is also very sad. I shed many tears working on this episode.

Because of this, there won't be a lot of jokes. There won't be a lot of sounds. Kristen, as you can see, I've prepared for each of us a tissue box. I did wonder. Just in case. Why you tiptoed up the stairs to the studio with two fresh Kleenex boxes. I didn't even put it together, but yeah, we're going to need these.

I was looking like a regular elf on a shelf. As you always do. Tiptoeing around the house. I want to give a special shout out to author Mayumi Ito, who wrote an extremely comprehensive book entitled Hachi, The Truth of the Life and Legend of the Most Famous Dog in Japan. I like to call these kinds of authors the historians, historian. Kristen, you've heard me say this before.

Folks, that means they told you every single detail, including some you didn't want, but you appreciate it because you're a historian like Norman. Exactly. You're not going to be laying out on the beach in Cancun reading this book, but if you ever wanted to know anything about Hachi, read Ito's book. Also, I will be saying a lot of Japanese words in this episode. I always do my best to pronounce them correctly, but there may be errors, so apologies in advance.

Is that the end of our breaking news segment? That was the end of the breaking news. I don't like you saying there won't be any jokes in this episode. No. I've got a ton of dead dog jokes queued up ready to go. Oh, no. Oh, no. Kristen, I'm going to have to censor you. No, long-term listeners of mine know that on my last podcast,

when our dog Peanut died, I took to the airwaves and I sobbed, sobbed and sobbed. Yes, it was very sad times. Yeah. I do remember. We all miss Peanut at old-timey headquarters. We sure do. Yeah. And we'll be thinking of Peanut during this episode.

Oh, no. This is going to, oh, boy. Okay. Is everybody ready? No. Are you strapped in? No, could you switch to a lighter topic, please, literally anything? Okay, new topic.

the history of the stuff crust pizza. All right, yeah, finally. No, no, I spent a long-ass time writing this script. We're going to learn about Hachi, a wonderful dog. Kristen, did you know that Tokyo has the top three busiest train

stations in the world? No. Well, the more you know. And ranked second on the list is the Shibuya Station, located right next to the Shibuya Crossing, which is sometimes referred to as the Times Square of Tokyo.

On average, about 3 million people go through the Shibuya station per day. Oh, good grief. That's too many people. It's a lot of people. And in a plaza, just outside the entrance, amongst all the hustle and bustle of people going about their day, is a small bronze statue. It's not a statue of a Japanese emperor or a samurai hero. Instead, it's a dog, sitting, stoically looking to the east.

east. He's wearing a harness. It's not all serious, though. There's some playfulness. One of the dog's ear stands straight up while the other droops down. That's my favorite. Yeah. Dottie has that sometimes. Yeah, and Peanut used to have that too. I love that. Most of the bronze on the statue has aged, well, except the legs. The legs are shiny from the millions of people who have come up to the dog statue and touched it to pay respect. In fact, this dog statue is considered an iconic piece of art in Tokyo. Many people, including locals and tourists, use it as a meetup spot. So what's the deal with this statue?

I mean, as far as works of art, this dog seems pretty ordinary. Rude. Do you want to look at a picture of the statue? No, I know it's magical. I don't even have to look. Well, Kristen, the story behind that statue is extraordinary. And as we all know, The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that a little extra.

What is that from? From the film Waiting. Okay. A classic. I do love that film. So let's get into that extra today. On the granite pedestal that holds up that statue, you'll find an inscription that reads Chuken Hachiko.

Translated, it says, the loyal dog Hachiko. Hachi was... and still is, a national icon in Japan. He's a dog that symbolizes loyalty, love, and happiness. His story has been turned into a song, children's books, and several major motion pictures. And over the years, parts of Hachi's story have been mythologized or completely forgotten. So today, I'd like to share with you all the true story of Hachi, a dog that reminds us of why we love dogs so much.

Picture it! Oh, God. He genuinely scared me. Japan! November of 1923. We are in the city of Odate, located about 400 miles north of Tokyo. That winter was especially cold.

Snow covered the ground and surrounding mountains of the city. But in the warmth of a barn, a mama dog gave birth to a litter of four puppies. All of them were boys. Yeah. Yeah. Woo!

Yeah. Folks, I do want to mention here that the entire time Kristen and I have been together, I have been the only male in the house. He has demanded it. He's very insecure. All of the pets have been female. He said, don't you bring any little animal dogs around me? No, no.

I'm the big man of this house is what he has said to me every time. Yep, I'm intimidated. I can be the only male in this house. So female pets only, please. No, the truth is I actually, oh, this is rude to say, there's nothing wrong with male dogs. I just don't know. I don't want to see a dog's wiener all the time.

That's not why we don't have a male dog. No, I'm, that's why, that is why we don't have male dogs. What? Are you for real? Yes, I'm for real. I don't want to see. What? That's the reason?

Yes. What? I don't know that. What? Dang, that's male. messed up. Well, I didn't, like, it's not like you've had your eye on a specific dog and I've said, no, I don't want that. Kristen, you know how much I love dog penis and you're keeping that away from me? No, but I just think, like, if we can avoid a red rocket around us, why

why not avoid it? This whole time, I just thought it was completely coincidental. We just always adopted a female pet. I had no idea you were actively seeking out female-only pets. It is, I'll tell you something. It's a coincidence that we've only had female cats. It's is not a coincidence that we've only had female dogs. Wow. You know what this is? This is breaking news. I can't believe it.

How long have we been together? Kansas City, man, devastated to learn. We've been together since 2009, so 27 years. That's not correct. That's 17 years. For real? To be together 17 years. and to find out something new about one another, that's a big deal.

I think you were right to hit the breaking news button. Live on the show, by the way. Yeah, yeah, and this is a weird one, frankly. I didn't know you didn't know that. I didn't know. Anyway, sorry for that weird tangent about dog penises. There were four dog penises in this litter of puppies. But these weren't just any old neighborhood special puppies, Kristen.

No, these were pure bred dogs called Akita Inu. Or as we stupid Americans might say, the Akita dog. I don't know what that is. You've never seen an Akita? I mean, maybe I've seen one. Let me look it up. Oh, my God. So cute.

Okay, so for those who don't have the video version, we are talking major floof, kind of golden in color, medium size to kind of large, actually. Yeah, they're large dogs. Very large now that I'm seeing one next to a banana for scale. Oh. Just as cute as a button. Oh my gosh. But a huge button, to be clear.

Yeah. Akitas are native to the city of Odate and the surrounding areas. In fact, that's how they got their name from the Akita Prefecture, where the city of Odate is located. By the way, if you don't know, a prefecture in Japan is basically like a state in the United States. So it's like if we had a dog breed here called Missouri. That'd be a rough-looking dog Akitas are big They're extremely strong and big-boned

They came around during the 1600s When samurai and farmers bred them as guard dogs And hunting dogs And boy, did they excel at that Akitas can tangle with wild boar, deer, and even black bears Oh my But they aren't all brawn, Kristen

They're also very cute They sure are Their coat is short-haired But really thick And they come in a variety of colors, white, cream, brindle, or even a reddish color. Akitas have triangular ears that point up and a really strong, bushy, curled up tail. What is that? Baby Ariel.

Oh! It's cute. Akitas are very cute. As far as personality goes, the Akita, in many ways, embodies the Bushido Code of the samurai. They are calm, intelligent. brave, stubborn, and most of all, extremely loyal and protective. They form very close affectionate bonds with their owners, and they are suspicious of strangers. This sounds like doddy.

It does sound like dotty. In fact, that bond is very critical for an Akita. It's recommended that Akita puppies get to their owner before they turn two months old. Wow. Which brings us back to those four puppies born in that barn. Luckily for those puppies, Akitas were highly sought after, especially purebred ones. Two of them were quickly adopted by families nearby. Another one was sent to a family living in Tokyo.

And that left only one, a cream-colored puppy who was described as, quote, tiny and adorable, with eyes that looked like little bells. And that cute little puppy was purchased by a local government official who worked in agriculture. But the puppy wasn't for him. It was a gift for his former agriculture professor at the University of Tokyo, a man named Hidezaburo Ueno. For the sake of this story, we're going to call him Professor Ueno. The 51-year-old Professor Ueno was a highly respected, beloved teacher in the Department of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo. He had studied all around the world, including Germany, France, in the United States. And with his wealth of knowledge, he really helped modernize agriculture.

agricultural methods in the country. Many considered him the founding father of agricultural civil engineering in Japan. Over his 25-year career, he taught more than 3,000 agricultural civil engineers in Japan, and many of his former students were now in charge of agriculture in their home prefecture. His students absolutely adored him. Professor Ueno was known to treat his students like they were his own children. He routinely invited them over for dinner in discussion. He took them out for drinks after class. He helped them secure jobs after graduation. And in return, his students often showed their love with gifts. As an example, in 1922, Professor Ueno got a really serious ear infection that put him in critical condition. That wasn't the gift. That wasn't the gift.

I saw the jokes, the joke gears turning in your head. They're always going, my friend. Well, the professor miraculously recovered. But as a gift, his students came together, and built him a vacation house. Holy shit. In the resort town of Hayama so he could rest and recover, which makes me want to ask our brother-in-law, Jay, who is a teacher? What have his students done for him? How about a cabin in Branson?

How about a very nice tent by the Precious Moments Chapel on the way to Brampton? No. I think he'd settle for that. A tent? How about a pop-up trailer posted up real close to a quick trip so you can hop over, get yourself some roller dogs, and then go back to camping? I'll say this. It's a lot more affordable than buying a cabin for sure. Professor Ueno's students built him a freaking vacation house. Now, he refused to accept it.

He said, hey, I'll use it, but this belongs to you all. This is your house. All this to say, it was clear that Professor Uenov. O'Ano had a lot of love to give. He and his wife, Yaiako, were not able to have children naturally. They had one adopted child, a daughter. But the Ueno family made up for that with dogs. Professor Ueno absolutely loved dogs.

Okay. He had raised 16 dogs over the years. Good grief. At that time, he had two English pointers. You know what an English pointer looks like? I'm Googling right now. See, this is the downside to only getting shelter dogs. I have no idea what these.

Oh, these are cute too. I love a big floppy ear. Oh, yeah. These pups have big floppy ears and skinny little pointy tails. They're like hound dogs. Yeah. So we had two English pointers. One was named Esu, and the other was named John.

It's a wonderful name for a dog. Yeah. So there's nothing I love more than a pet with a huge. name. That is my favorite thing. My favorite one is my sister has a friend who has a cat named Gary. And I just love that. I cannot get over that. I feel like Frank is another really solid name for a cat. Frank? Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yep, that's good. Question of the week, history host. Tell us your favorite animal you know that has a human name. I'm just curious to hear some of the other names. We're not looking for little peanut and fluffy. Yeah, I don't want Fido or sugar or daisy. No, no, no, no.

We're looking for Eleanor. Yep. I want Abraham. Asmerelda. Salman. Kyle the dog. Kyle the dog. I have always said if I ever got a dachshund, I was going to name it Daryl. That is the only time you've made my dad uncomfortable, I think. Yes, it's true. You know what? if he keeps giving us notes on our slop segment running too long, game on. It's happening. We're getting a new dog, obviously a female. Now you know why. And it's going to be named Daryl.

Getting a doxsw, next day air. It's on the way. Amazon Prime, baby. Yeah. So yeah, Professor Ueno had Esu and John, two English pointers. But they were getting old. And Professor Ueno was ready for a new pup in his life. He had always wanted a year.

native purebred Akita dog. But he was also hesitant to get one. Because in his lifetime, Professor Ueno had had four different Akita dogs. But for one reason or another, they had all died at a young age. Unfortunately, animal medicine just wasn't that advanced back then. In fact, during that time, only about 20% of dogs reached the age of six. Oh, gosh. Well, no wonder he had 16 of them in his lifetime.

Exactly. Also, if we're talking about pure breads, they tend, I mean. A lot of incest, incestual breeding with pure breads. In fact, I read a source that said Hachie's mom and dad were brother and sister. I bet they were. The family tree of Hachie is very, the sources are questionable and there's really not a good. No, it's not questionable. It's one straight line.

I mean, maybe. All you have to do, see, you're not. not as into the royals as I am. All you have to do is look at some of these portraits from some of the royals over the years. And you know, you know why it's important to find some new blood, okay? Look up Habsburg Jaw, H-A-B-S-B-U-R-G. Oh, yeah. This is what happens when you're all about, we need to consolidate power in Europe and not about like, hey, could we fuck some random people who we haven't seen at the family reunion? A sign of royal inbreeding.

Mm-hmm. Yep, I've seen this look a lot. Whoa. You've seen this look a lot. He's got the love. This is from a long time ago. Well, I say, and I see it a lot in portraits and like old-timey portraits. I'm not going to Shake Shack and seeing people with Habsburg jaws.

The way you said, that was like, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, a lot of royally inbred folks in Kansas City. That's right. Okay. So Professor Ueno wanted an Akita dog, and his students knew that. They knew how much he wanted one. And so in January of 1924, that tiny, adorable Akita puppy with eyes that looked like little bells, was placed in a straw crate and put on a train heading for Tokyo. A surprise gift for the professor. That trip to Tokyo was rough for the Akita puppy.

The train traveled in a blizzard through mountain peaks, forests, tunnels, town, cities. It was a 20-hour-long trip. The Akita puppy separated from his family for the very first time, whimpered, alone in a straw crate stored with the passenger's luggage. But that young puppy survived, and after being picked up from the train station, came face to face with his new owner, Professor Ueno. And when the professor first laid eyes on that tiny, adorable puppy, it was love at first sight. He named the dog Hachi. We don't really know for sure why Professor Ueno chose. that name. The word Hachi literally means eight. And that's considered a lucky number in Japan.

Perhaps the professor was just feeling very lucky to have his new friend. Unfortunately, Hachi wasn't so lucky in the beginning. The train ride may have taken a toll on the young pup. Hachi was very sick. He had a sensitive stomach. He constantly had diarrhea. He developed a fever. But Professor Ueno was filled with determination to get Hachi, healthy. With his past experiences, he wanted to make sure Hachi had a good, long life. Over the next six months, Professor Ueno dedicated his time to nursing Hachi back to health. He gave him medicine for his stomach issues. He put ice on his forehead to cool him down. He fed him a special diet of rice, beef liver, and egg yolks to get his strength up.

He bathed him, brushed him, picked bugs from his fur. He also spoiled little Hachi. At that time in Japan, dogs were expected to sleep outside. But not Hachi. Professor Uano thought it was too cold outside for little Hachi. So he brought him into his bedroom. Hachi liked to crawl under the bed frame and fall asleep. Oh my gosh.

Sound familiar, Kristen? Everyone, this is what our dog Kit does. We have Kit and Doddy. Dottie is not small enough to get under any bed. Nope. But Kit can wiggle under and then as soon as we are both asleep, and not willing to protest. She jumps up on the bed and sleeps in between us.

She does. Usually with her head on my legs. I call her goblin because she's like a little goblin burrowing under the bed in the dark. I'll lift the bed skirt and I'll just hear her tail go thump, thum, thum, fum, fom. Because she knows I'm about to peek at her. So yeah, Professor Ueno took really good care of Hachi. And over the next several months, Hachi recovered.

With the weather warming up, Professor Uwino, Ueno thought it was finally time to let Hachi sleep outside in a kennel. But Hachi was not a fan of that, Kristen. No. He barked and whined to come inside. And as I mentioned before, Akitas are extremely loyal, and they form strong bonds with their owner. And I think the bond between Professor Ueno and Hachi was even stronger because he had

nursed Hachi back to health. Yeah. So the thought of the professor being just a few. feet away inside, it really upset Hachi. Professor Ueno also found it hard to resist Hachi's cries. But, you know, eventually Hachi got used to sleeping outside. Oh, I thought the professor was going to give in. I know you would.

Well, let me finish. Oh, okay. Still, every now and then, Hachi got to come inside and sleep because Professor Ueno could not resist. Mm-hmm. By the summer of 1924, Hachi had grown quite a bit. He was no longer that tiny adorable puppy. He was still cute, obviously, but he was big.

How big was he? On all fours, Hachie stood 2.2 feet tall. Oh, wow. He weighed 90 pounds. He was now the biggest dog at home, towering over John and Esu. By the way, shout out to that older dog, John. He isn't talked about much in the sources, but they say that John was like a big brother to Hachi and showed him the ropes.

I do love when you can tell that an older dog senses that another dog is just a puppy. Like you can tell the older dog is annoyed by the antics and a little thrown by the energy, but like they just understand. This is basically a kid I'm dealing with here. Yeah. And that's the vibe I got with John and Hachi. Yeah. Now, Esu did not like Hachi.

Oh. They did not get along. We do love drama in a story. All right. What happened? We'll tell you. Hachi and Pachie. Professor Ueno were inseparable, so much so that in the mornings, Hachi started walking with Professor

Ueno to work. Sometimes John and Esu would tag along as well, but Hachi always went. Professor Ueno usually had two spots he went to for work. Sometimes it was to the Department of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo. That was an easy 10-minute walk from his house. Other times it was to the Shibuya train station, where he would catch a ride to the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce or to agricultural work just outside the city. But no matter where Professor Ueno walked in the morning, Hachi followed, and he did it without a leash. Now, I'm getting all dramatic here because the anxious dog parent in me hears that, and I'm like, ah, no leash, oh my God, what if he runs away? Well, yeah, our dogs are not well-behaved enough for that. That would be a disaster.

Here's the thing. I think our dogs would not leave our side unless they saw something they didn't like and they'd run after it. So, in other words, they're not to be trusted. Exactly. They would be totally loyal to us by our side the whole time unless they saw a cat that looked at them sideways. And then it'd be game on. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But, you know, hear me out, Kristen, during that time in Japan,

it was actually not customary or even required to have your dog on a leash. Most dogs, including strays, just kind of roamed around the streets and no one really paid them any mind. Yeah. Plus, Hachi was very intelligent. He was very loyal. Yeah, but couldn't he kill a bear? So, I mean, maybe we should. There's no bears walking around Tokyo.

We hope. That I know of. What about a big guy in a fur coat? Could be dangerous. Hachie pounces on him. Hachi would not leave the professor of. side, and he knew how to get home. Every morning when Professor Ueno arrived at his destination, he would spend a few minutes playing with Hachi. Hachi liked to jump and get hugs or wrestle on the

ground. Professor Ueno then gave Hachi treats and told him to go home. And Hachie always listened. He always just walked back home. And then at around 5 p.m., like clockwork, Hachi would return to the same spot to pick up Professor Ueno. He would sit and wait, eyeballing every person walking by, waiting to see his friend. And when they reunited, Hachi would excitedly wag his tail and jump up to greet Professor Ueno. Even if it was pouring rain or snowing, Professor Ueno would always get off the train or the streetcar or walk through the gates of the university and there he would see Hachi waiting for him.

and together the two walked home. They became a familiar sight in the Shibuya Ward. If you saw Professor Ueno, you usually saw Hachi walking right next to him. Of course, some days didn't always go as planned. As an Akita, there wasn't much that scared Hachi, except very loud noises. Oh. If Hachi heard a firework or thunder, he would just bolt for the nearest hiding spot. Any open door, he would just run in.

Strangers' homes, whatever. One time Professor Ueno got off work and noticed Hachi wasn't waiting for him. He figured maybe his wife, Yako, kept him at home. But when he got home, Hachi wasn't there either. Where on earth did that dog go? The mystery was revealed when a few minutes later, the police called to report they had found Hachi. A stationary store had reported that a massive Akita was hiding.

under a table in their store. Apparently on his way to meet the professor, Hachi heard the sounds of guns going off at a nearby military base and bolted to the nearest open building, which was the stationary store. Oh, at the comfort of Hallmark cards. All right. That's right.

Good choice. Yeah, you give Hacchi a card afterward and be like, get well soon. Sorry, you're such a wimp. That was all part of Hachi's charm, though. For the next year, Professor Ueno and... and Hachi's routine never changed. Hachi walked the professor to work at 9 a.m. and picked him up at 5 p.m. They were truly best friends, until a horrible tragedy changed everything.

On the morning of May 21st, 1925, Professor Ueno and Hachi walked together to the entrance of the University of Tokyo's Department of Agriculture. The weather was gloomy, but that wasn't going to stop Hachi from tagging along. When they arrived at the gate, the two played. Hachi jumped on the professor, and in return, he got treats. Then they said their goodbyes. Okay, Hachi, go home. And Hachi did. That was the last time they would ever see each other.

Later that morning, Professor Ueno was speaking with a colleague in his office when he sat down, spoke a few words, and, without any warning, died. Professor Ueno had suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm. It killed him almost instantly. He was 53 years old. It was a huge loss for the Department of Agriculture, for the Ministry of Agriculture, for the Ueno family, and of course for Hachi.

But Hachi didn't know. He was completely oblivious to what had happened. As the Ueno family mourned and made funeral arrangements, Hachi followed his routine. At around 5 p.m., he was, walked to the gates of the university to wait for Professor Ueno. And there he sat and waited, his eyes scanning every passerby looking for the professor. But his old friend never came.

It eventually got dark outside, and Hachi, confused, walked back home. Over the next few days, Professor Ueno's wife, Yaoko, and the rest of the family, planned for a wake and funeral service. and during those intense emotional days, someone noticed that Hachi was nowhere to be found. A servant found him three days later in the outside storage shed, laying next to a pile of Professor Ueno's clothes. The same clothes he was wearing the day he died. Yalko had temporarily put them out there,

but I guess Hachi had sniffed him out. On May 25th, the Ueno family held awake in their living room. The entire time, Hachi, laid under the pretext. professor's coffin, guarding his friend. The next day, Professor Hideasaburo Ueno was buried in the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo. Apparently, he was going to be buried back in his hometown, but the professor's former students all pitched in and purchased a plot for him in Tokyo, so Yaoko could easily visit her late husband. Meanwhile, Hachi struggled to understand what had happened to the professor, So he did what he knew.

The afternoon of the funeral at around 5 p.m., Hachi walked down to the Shibuya train station and waited for him. But life would never be the same, not for Hachi or the Ueno family. It turned out that Professor Ueno and his wife, Yahu, were not legally married. Oh. Back in the day, his parents had chosen a bride for him in his hometown. But on the night of the wedding, professor Ueno ran off.

He eventually met Yahu and wanted to marry her but his parents opposed the marriage. And in Japan at that time, Ueno's family would have had to sign off on the marriage for it to be legal. So instead, they had a common law marriage. And unfortunately, that meant Yahuahokou

had no legal rights it would not be allowed to keep their house. Oh. She was forced to move out. Oh, that's terrible. Yeah. Well, then what good is a common law marriage if you can't, I mean, what did she get? I didn't look too much into that.

Okay. Into Japanese marriage law, but in the 1920s. Context norm. Some of us like context. Hey, I'm giving you the context, baby. Okay. Incredibly, Professor Ueno's former students once again pitched in to help out. They sold that vacation home they had built for the professor, and they gave all the proceeds to Yaoko so she could build herself a new home. But in the meantime, Yaakou would have to rent a house, and that would come with some hard choices.

Oh. Because as anyone who has rented will tell you, becomes much more difficult when you have pets. Yako had three dogs, John, Esu, and Hachi. And she had to decide what to do with them. And ultimately, Yaoko decided to only take one dog with her, Esu. Apparently, Esu was a little aggressive to other dogs. He liked riding solo. Yeah.

And so Yaoko thought it was best that he stay with her. Can you imagine losing your husband, losing your home, and then you have to give up two of your three dogs? Yeah, that would be devastating. As for Hachi and John, they were sent off to live with one of Yaakos' relatives. who ran a kimono shop in Tokyo. John, who was pretty old at this point, seemed content with his new home, but Hachi struggled.

He and John were tied up in the yard for most of the day, and Hachi was restless in an area of Tokyo unfamiliar to him. One time, Yauko stopped by to check on him, and Hachi was so excited. He cried, he jumped, he licked her, and after she left, Hachi kept looking for her. He got in trouble one day at his new owner's kimono shop when he jumped on a customer, thinking it was Yako.

Ultimately, everyone decided that this just wasn't a good fit. Hachi would have to live somewhere else. And so, Yako's older sister, who lived in downtown Tokyo, agreed to take Hachi. And that was the last time Hachi and John would see each other. Shout out to John, once again, the English pointer. He was a good boy and a good friend to Hachi. Yako's sister did her best to make Hachi feel at home. She fed him his favorite food.

She gave him walks. But again, Hachi struggled. Yako and her sister believed Hachi needed to live closer to his old neighborhood in Shibuya, where he and the professor walked every morning. And so, Yako asked her old gardener, Kikusaburo Kobayashi, if he would take Hachi. And it was a good fit. Kobayashi had known and worked for the Ueno family for many years.

He and the professor had a shared love for plants and gardening. And Kobayashi was also very familiar with Hachi. He was the one who actually picked up Hachi the day he arrived at the train station as a puppy. Oh, wow. And when he worked in the Ueno's garden, he would always find time to take a break and play with Hachi in the yard. And so Kobayashi happily agreed to take care of Hachi. In the summer of 1925, Kobayashi sent his little brother to go pick Hachi up.

When he arrived holding a leash, Hachi was so excited. He probably knew on some level that he was leaving. He dragged Kobayashi's little brother all the way back to the Shibuya Award. And Kobayashi took good care of Hachi. You know, he tried to do the same things that the professor had to be. done for Hachi. But you know, despite that, Hachi always seemed solemn. Yeah. He never seemed super excited or joyful.

Kobayashi said he would often walk with his head down. Hachi listened to Kobayashi, but there was just this connection that was missing. They didn't have the bond. They didn't have the bond. Kobayashi rightfully assumed that Hachi missed his best friend. Akita dogs often choose that one person to be connected. connected with. And for Hachi, that person was gone. Hachi would live with Kobayashi for the rest of his life, but he didn't spend most of his time at home. Because Kobayashi, he still had a gardening business to run.

He found it hard to find time to walk Hachi and get energy out of him. But you know, Hachi knew the area. Kobayashi trusted that Hachi would come home. And so he just let Hachi get his energy out by roaming around the neighborhood all day. And Hachi was thrilled, and he immediately set off to look for the professor. At first he visited the old Ueno home, but after a while he stopped going there. A new family lived there now,

one that he didn't recognize. So instead, Hachi kept returning to a place where he met the professor often, the Shibuya train station. Every morning at around 9 a.m., Hachi walked down to the train station, and there, he waited. At around 5 p.m., as evening commuters exited the station, Hachi excitedly waited on all fours, hoping to see Professor Ueno,

but his old friend never came, and eventually Hachi would return to Kobayashi's house, and he'd do the same thing the next day, and the next day, and the next day. At first, this story seems really sad and heartbreaking. One man who remembered seeing Hachi later wrote, I often saw a big dog sitting by the ticket gate at Shibuya Station alone, demurely and quietly in the evening. It was Hachiko. He was waiting for his deceased master.

He was a poor dog. But Hachi really did kind of enjoy this routine too. It was kind of like he had a purpose. Yeah, this was his job. He had a job to do. And that hope of one day seeing the professor again kept him coming back. Sometimes Kobayashi and his brother would run into Hachi near the train station. And Hachi would always come up to them and say hello.

But they both knew where Hachi wanted to be. They would pet him and say, it's okay, Hachi, you can go to the station. Hachi happily wagged his tail and trotted back to the train station. and for passengers, the sight of a big, fluffy Akita dog at the Shibuya Station became pretty normal. For the most part, people ignored Hachi. You know, they just assumed he was a stray dog and they went on their way. But others grew quite fond of Hachi. He was so calm and gentle and affectionate.

Hachi never seemed to mind a friendly pet on the head. A student who rode the train every day later recalled, what a big dog. That was my first impression of Hachi. When I commuted to Tokyo, I saw him every day. He was always sitting, facing toward the ticket gate of Shibuya train station in the evening. He was a magnificent looking dog with a fine coat. And Kristen, children really loved Hachi.

They would wrestle with him. They would ride Hachi like a pony. Hachi never seemed to mind either. You know, he loved playing. Hachi also became friends with many of the regulars at the Shibuya train station. On the way to the station, Hachi often stopped at various shops to say hello to the employees as they got ready for the day. A tea shop owner recalled seeing Hachi every morning as he set out merchandise in front of his store. Hachi would just sit and watch him as he worked.

The owner recalled how much that meant to him just to have Hachi around. He was new to Tokyo and he considered Hachi one of the first. of his first friends. Restaurants would set out leftovers for Hachi to eat. In the evenings, vendors lined up to sell Yaki-tori, a.k.a. grilled chicken skewers to hungry passengers coming home from work, and Hachi happily accepted any donations or dropped skewers. Sadly, not everyone liked Hachi.

Some passengers complained to the train station about the large Akita dog who was always around. employees tried to move Hachie by pulling on his collar or shoeing him away. But again, Hachi was a big dog. He didn't budge. Well, and they didn't really want to move him. Those Karens could F off. Well... What?

They didn't really want to move him? I think they did. Okay. Some did. It's a mixed bag. All they had to do was set off a firework. If only they knew. shoot a gun into the air

and Hachi will go running along with thousands of people cleared the train station for you. He cleared out. Sadly, some people abused Hachi. They would kick him or throw water on him to go away. One time he was found with graffiti painted on him.

But you know, that only worked temporarily. Hachi would always come back to the train station in the hopes have seen Professor Ueno again the legend of Hachi was in the making. But that legend wouldn't really leave the Shibuya Ward until one man heard about the story. And his name was Hiro Kichi-Saito. Hiro Kichi Saito was the president of the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Dogs. Was this a society of one?

I mean, in the beginning, sure. Sounds kind of made up. You know, he started this organization. because number one, he loved dogs. Sure. And number two. Be weird if he didn't. Yeah, it would be kind of weird if he was like,

no, more of a cat guy. But number two, Saito was really concerned that native Japanese dog breeds were slowly disappearing. In his view, foreign blood, aka Western breeds, were taken over the country. So he wanted that Habsburg jaw. I mean, for the dogs, yes. Uh-huh, he sure did. Saito wanted to make sure native braids like the Akita Innu, the Shiba Inu, the Hokkaido Inu, and more would not go extinct. And if all that sounds kind of icky-ish, well, it kind of is a little icky.

Because, Kristen, as we learned during our Hiro Onoda series, during this time, nationalism was sweeping through Japan. Oh, yeah. Japan and its people and its dogs were superior to others in the world. Now, some people have argued that that's all nonsense, that Hito Kichita just loved dogs. He would have been perfect for Diane Lane in that movie. Oh.

Not John Cusack. And, you know, Saito wanted to make sure that the Japanese breeds wouldn't go extinct. And to them, I would say, two things can be true. Yeah. So yes, I'm sorry, even in the story about Hachi, we can't always just have nice things. We have to talk about bad things too. Anyway, I just want you and the listeners to keep that context in mind for the rest of this story, okay?

The eugenics of it all. We get it. Hidokichi Saito and the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Dogs spent most of their time searching the country. country for purebred Japanese dogs. They analyzed them, organized breedings, created a registry, and more. And in July of 1928, while walking around the Shibuya Ward of Tokyo, Saito spotted a beautiful purebred Akita standing in front of a tea shop, and it was Hachi. And Saito was like, oh my god

what a beautiful purebred Akitaidu keep this freak away from this dog he was horno for the dog okay yep he said I gotta know more so Saito tried to lure Hachi over with some crackers

but Hachi was very suspicious of strange weirdos and so he just ran and Saito gave chase they ran through streets and alleyways all through Shibuya until finally Hachi darted into a house

and it was... A random house? Nope. It was Kobayashi's house. Oh, okay. It was Hachi's home. So Hito Kito met with Kobayashi to learn more about Hachi.

And Kobayashi told them everything about how Hachi had come from Odate as a gift for the late professor Ueno about how they were inseparable. and how the professor had tragically died, and how Hachi now went down to the Shibuya train station every day to wait for him. Hito Kichi Saito was moved by the story. What a beautiful example of loyalty

between a pure-bred Japanese dog and its owner. And there is no way Saito could keep this to himself. He had to tell more people. And so on August 30, 1928, Saito published the first registry of Japanese dogs. All right. Do you remember those Who's Who in America books? Yes.

This is what this is, but it's for dogs in Japan, okay? It included profiles of notable dogs around the country, as long as they were Japanese and they were purebred. Not even a drop of something else. That's right. Was that Australian? I don't know what that. and international fully this episode.

Australian redneck. Oh, that's some? I don't know. Hachi got his very own profile in that book. And it told his story about his bond with Professor Ueno and visiting the Shibuya Station every day to wait for him. This was the very first written account of Hachi. But not many people heard about it. I mean, it was in a...

Yeah, nobody reads these books except for the dogs who submitted their profiles. Or the purse. Oh. You know, it's a pretty niche book. I'm not sure how many people picked up a copy of the first registry of Japanese dogs. But Hito Kiki Saito never stopped writing about Hachi. He was convinced this story had a wider appeal. And so four years later, he submitted some of his writings on Hachi to the Tokyo Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

And to Saito's surprise, the newspaper loved it. and they decided to do a story. And that is how, on October 4, 1932, Hachi got his very first write-up in the newspaper. The headline read, Tale of a poor old dog, waiting for seven years for his dead master. Boy, they couldn't have made it sadder, could they?

Yeah. You know, former journalist, what do you think of that headline, Kristen? I think tale of a poor old dog would have sufficed. No, you got it. And also did they do like, oh, it's, okay, it's Japanese. Never mind. It is Japanese. Translation might be a little off.

I was, no. I was going full cheese. Tail, T-A-I-L of an old dog. No, I think it's actually a good headline. It would make me read it. I'm just kind of like, can we talk about the happy things about him? I'm going to read you part of this article. Yeah.

It read in part, an old dog sits among the pitch dark crowd of passengers at Shibuya train station, waiting for someone every morning and evening. He is an Akita mix called Hachiko. He had kept his routine of waiting for his master, the late Professor Ueno, even after he had passed away. Hachiko had rarely missed this routine, rain or snow, and waited for his master, who will never return, for seven years with dwindling eyesight. The death of his master must have been beyond belief for Hachiko. Side note, this article was the first time. Hachi was ever referred to as Hachico. What's that mean?

So it's a suffix, co, and that's added as like a sign of respect. Hmm. It's commonly used for like a noble person, like a lord or a duke. Okay. And so they started calling him Hachiko. Kind of as like a jokey respect thing or? No, I think just out of respect for this poor old dog. Okay.

Yeah. The newspaper story was picked up nationally. the loyal dog Hachiko was a national sensation. Hachi's story was beautiful. It was heartwarming. It highlighted many of the reasons we love dogs so much. That unconditional love. That loyalty.

An unimaginable emotional bond between humans and animals. But there was also a subtle, darker lesson in there, too. You know, about how important loyalty was. Maybe people should be more like Hachi and show their unwavering loyalty to the military and the emperor. Wait, really? Was that what the... Oh. Yeah. Oh, gross.

In fact, the Japanese Ministry of Education added the story of Hachi to their second grade textbooks. The moral of the story was, do not forget debt of gratitude. Wow, you're really... It's funny. Like, I knew the basics of this story, but you're throwing context at me that I did not want to hear. Yikes. Listen, I wasn't super familiar with this part of the story either. Yeah. But it definitely was a thing given what was going on in Japan at that time.

Yeah. This is still a beautiful story about a dog. Of course it is. But there's a darker part of it as well. Hito Kishi Saito was all for it. He was thrilled that the story would help spread the word about hachi and make children love Japanese dogs. But it kind of irked others, including some people within Saito's own organization,

the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Dogs. One critic wrote, Devoting of dogs does not stem from a sense of obligation for kindness received, but is based entirely on pure love. This whole side of the story is really upsetting. I hate it, and I just want to make it clear. Hachi was innocent in all of this. Oh, no.

I'm just saying it's not Hachi's fault. The Japanese government was like, oh, we're going to use you for propaganda, basically. Oh, no, of course. Anyway, when the newspaper published the story in October of 1932, Hachi was eight years old, still going to the Shibuya train station daily to wait for Professor Uano.

and he was completely unaware of the fame awaiting him. I mean, he is a dog, after all. I was going to say, Norman. What the hell? Why doesn't this dog know? Can he read? If you can't handle the heat, Hachis, stay out of the kitchen. That's right.

Pretty soon, thousands of people were visiting the Shibuya train station to see Hachi, the loyal Akita dog. The influx of new people shocked the station master, Tadokazzo. Yoshikawa. In the past, Yoshikawa didn't really pay Hachi any mind. But now that he was basically famous, Yoshikawa decided, oh, yes, I'm definitely involved in this story too. And he sort of became Hachi's unofficial spokesperson and guardian. This guy all of a sudden starts wearing a feather boa to work every day. He's like, fine, yes, I'm involved. Oh my gosh. Hachi and I are best

friends. We always have been. We hang out all the time, mostly at the train station. station. If there's any SpongeBob fans out there, Yoshikawa is basically Mr. Crabs. Okay. I was too old, so I just have to say, okay, I can't even improv with you. That's okay, Kristen. We have young and old listeners, too. Yoshikawa instructed all of his employees to not mistreat Hachi.

Great. New rules starting now. No mistreatment of the dog. he also allowed Hachi to have full access to the train station. Hachi probably didn't understand why he was getting all of this extra attention, but hey, he was all for it because in the hot summers, Hachi now got to lay inside on the cool floor, or in the winter he got to lay by the warm stove.

Yoshikawa also tried to cash in on Hachi's fame. He sold made-up stories about Hachi's origins. He even made up a fake receipt for when Hachi arrived, arrived as a puppy back in 1924. Street vendors cashed in too. Merch. Merch. Yep. They sold items like Hachiko rice crackers or Hachiko chocolates. There were little handmade Hachiko dolls for children.

Hidokichi Saito was thrilled with the national response to the newspaper article. It was bringing attention to native Japanese dogs and to his organization, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Dogs. And he took advantage of this by creating Japan's very first dog show in November of 1932. Saito had convinced Kobayashi to have Hachi attend as a special guest. An advertisement read, quote, The star of the event is the old dog Hachiko. He is a purebred Akita with a fine pedigree.

Getting Hachi to leave the station proved to be very difficult, though. Kobayashi had trouble getting him into a taxi. Hatchy just refused to move. He wasn't going to leave the train station. Okay. It is amazing. Now, I can imagine, especially, I mean, he was like a hundred pound dog, right? 90 pounds?

Yeah, 90. When we first got Dottie and she was a puppy and she weighed 20 pounds. 25 pounds, I think, yeah. She was so anxious she refused to go on walks. Yes. And I remember the first time you tried to walk her, you came back and you were just like, Yeah, she just won't go. And I just couldn't accept that.

I mean, I'd never even heard of a dog who wouldn't go on a walk. And I was also like, how have, how can you? I know you're a non-threatening boy, but like, how can you really not make the dog go on a walk? Give me the leash, you. I did. You little boy. I'll walk this damn dog. And sure enough, no, when a dog really just flat out does not want to move.

It ain't moving. I mean, it was nuts. Yeah. So I can imagine. Yeah. pound dog? That dog's not going to your damn show. Mm-mm. Yeah, Hachi wasn't moving. But then, Professor Ueno's widow, Yako, showed up and led Hachi into the taxi. And they attended the show together. Hachi's special guest appearance at the

first dog show further elevated his fame. Politicians and celebrities were now talking about Hachi. Some even stopped by the train station to feed him treats for photo ops. A record company even recorded Hachi's bark. Would you like to hear it? Yeah. So quality's not great. Okay. More like a howl than a bark, but I'm going to play it for you.

Ready? Yeah. That did sound kind of old and sad. It's the only recording of Hachi. Okay. Hachi even made a cameo in a Japanese film entitled General of the Alps. Very minor scene. Hmm.

You know. Not the star of the show, huh? No. Okay. The national fever for Hachi was at an all-time high. And in the summer of 1933, a sculptor named Teru Ando got permission to make a plaster statue of Hachi for a government art exhibit. Hachi was brought to Ando's studio for several days in a row to pose for the sculpture. And of course, Hachi had trouble staying still.

It was hot as hell in that room, and they were interrupting his routine. Yeah, because this is not about him at all. No. But Hachi felt better when he heard a familiar voice. It was Yako. She was stopping by to check in on the progress. Hachi bolted toward her, jumping, wagging his tail. And Yaka helped Hachi calm down and stay still long enough for the sculpting.

The sculptor, Teru Ando, was touched by their relationship. He stated that, in that moment, quote, I fully realized the predisposition of Japanese dogs that they could not have a second master. Teru Ando captured Hachi perfectly as he was in that time. A large old Akita dog sitting, staring, and waiting, in the hopes of seeing his old friend, his right ear standing straight up, his left ear flopping down due to health issues. Hachi was having a lot of health issues by the end of 1933. He was now 10 years old.

He suffered from heartworms and ascites. That's when you have too much apple cites. Kristen! Making a joke of poor Hachie's condition. No, I'm just teasing. What's going on with him? It's when fluid builds up in your organs. It's usually a sign of something more serious.

Yeah. Like way too much apple cites. I'm going to save you with this and you will thank me for it. I'm just making a little joke. I know. Everyone knows I'm sad. Hachis joints hurt. He continued making the trip to Shibuya Station daily, just a little more slowly.

To make him more comfortable, the gardener Kobayashi built Hachi a wooden platform bed, filled with straw, and he placed it at the train station. train station master Yoshikawa hired an employee to watch over Hachi full time. He kept a daily journal of his health and brought in veterinarians to check on him regularly. Meanwhile, visitors continued to pour into the Shibuya train station to see Hachi. The station put warning tags on Hachi's collar that read, Handle with Care, and, Please do not give Hachi raw meat. Please tear food into small pieces when you feed him.

and most people followed those rules. Meanwhile, that plaster statue of Hachi was a big hit at the government art exhibit. And soon there was talk of making it a permanent bronze statue at the train station. Allegedly, Hidokishi Saito urged sculptor Teru Ando to make one major change to the statue. Hachi's left ear should not flop down. It should stand straight up. like all purebred Japanese Akita dog's ears do. In January of 1934, Saito and others launched a fundraising campaign for the new statue.

They collected small donations from Hachi's biggest fans, school children, and they received more than 500 donations. Kids included letters with their donations that read, Please use half of this money for buying Hachi's favorite food, and use the rest for his statue. Isn't that sweet? Yeah. A few months later on March 10th, 1934, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Dogs and others put on a fundraising event

called An Evening for the Loyal Dog Hachiko. It was a celebration of the virtue of loyalty. There were performances from popular entertainers, geisha girls, a children's chorus, and more. But of course, the big draw was Hachi himself. He appeared briefly on stage with Yaakou in front of a crowd of 3,000 attendees. Hachi, probably wondering why on earth he was there, stared out into the crowd and then yawned. And the audience was like, woo, yeah, Hachie!

At least he didn't take a dump, I mean. Yeah, like Peanut did at our wedding. It's true. Got a great photo of it, hanging on the Christmas tree. Mm-hmm. You know, sometimes during a wedding ceremony, you just got to walk off to the side and take a dump. I was like, Kristen, from the first minute I met you, and peanuts behind me just pinch in a loaf. The following month on April 21, 1934, brought the official unveiling ceremony of the Hatchy Bronze Statue.

There were several speeches, including some from government officials that praised the loyalty and perseverance. of Hachi. And then the statue was unveiled, and there it was. A beautiful, shiny, bronze statue of Hachi complete with, hey, wait a minute, his left ear is still floppy. Hell yeah, it is. Yes. For whatever reason, Saito's demand that Hachi's left ear be straight never happened. Some say Teru Ando insisted they present Hachi as accurately as possible. Others say there just wasn't enough time to make that change. Nearby, Hachi, wearing white and red ribbons, his left ear flopped down, watched on. And when the crowd dispersed after the ceremony, Hachi resumed his normal routine.

He waited. But by the fall of 1934, Hachi struggled to maintain his daily habit. Walking to and from the station was now too hard. Eventually, he stopped coming home to the Kobayashi house. He stayed at the Shibuya train station, still waiting for the professor. Kobayashi and Yaako made it a point to regularly visit him to check up on him. The following year on March 1, 1935, Hachi took a turn for the worst. He was 11 years old.

He was lying on his wooden bed, panting hard. He vomited often. His body was swollen. A veterinarian checked on him, but there wasn't really anything he could do. All they could do was make Hachi as comfortable as possible. Six days later, on March 7, 1935, Yawako visited Hachi at the train station. By then, Hachi could barely see or hear anything.

Still, he waited. Hachi didn't react when Yawakou walked up to him, or even when she called his name. Hachie, Hachie. But then Hachi sniffed. He recognized her scent, and he slowly began wagging his tail. That was the last time Yauko would see Hachi.

Later that night, a snack shop owner was working when he received a surprise visit from Hachi. The owner was curious why Hachi showed up, considering his condition. Apparently Hachi visited many stores that night. Only later did people realize that, perhaps Hachi was saying goodbye to everyone. In the early hours of March 8, 1935,

At around 6 a.m., a woman named Haruno Takizawa was sweeping the street in front of her family's liquor store. When she spotted a dog, laying near the entrance of an alley, it was Hachi. Takizawa ran over and knelt beside him, petting him and calling his name. Hachie, Hach. But there was no response. Hachi had passed away, alone in that alleyway. His face pointed east, direct. toward Aoyama Cemetery, the resting place of his old friend, Professor Ueno.

Takizawa said she was surprised that Hachi had come that far. Her family's liquor store was located across the railroad tracks. Hachi never came over that way. It's an interesting phenomenon in animals. When they know it's their time, they'll sometimes find a quiet, secluded spot to die. It's to protect themselves and others in their pack, and I believe that's what Hachi was doing. Hachi lived to be 11 years and four months old.

That was a long time, considering the average life expectancy of dogs at that time was seven years. Wow. When Kobayashi and Yauko heard the news, they rushed down to Shibuya Station to be with Hachi. Kobayashi was in tears. He had hoped that Hachi could pass in a comfortable,

warm environment, surrounded by people he loved. I wanted Hachi to die in my house, he said. Yahuco told reporters, quote, I'm sad because I can no longer see Hachi wagging his tail as he used to when I occasionally visited the station. However, I am somewhat relieved because Hachi has at last gone to be near my late husband in heaven, whom Hachi loved so much. Nationwide, the country mourned the death of Hachiko.

The only time in Japanese history, the country mourned for an animal. The following day on March 9th, there was a memorial service for Hachi in front of his statue at Shibuya Station, a large crowd gathered with offerings of flowers and wreaths. And because of his national importance, Hachi got a full autopsy. What? I'm going to open up my clean Xbox. That seems ridiculous. Hey, he's a hero.

Okay. He's a hero, Kristen. We want to know how he died. A full autopsy. That's right. Do they suspect Felfway? That's right. We're just curious.

Just a feeling. But I guess I'd say this dog was murdered. Now, is there a difference between an autopsy and a full autopsy? I guess I should ask that question first. I guess, sorry. I was crying so hard, and it just really switched up. I don't know that there is a difference between an autopsy and a full autopsy and a full autopsy just seems so, um, something you'd do for a president, maybe.

Okay. Well, Hachie, bottom line, Hachi got an autopsy. Full one. A full one. Tip to tail. That full autopsy confirmed that Hachie had died from a combination of heartworms in old age. Incidentally, they also found four bamboo skewers in his stomach. Okay, when you said that he would eat the chicken things, I was kind of like, huh, I feel like our dog. because we just chomp into that. The yakitori?

Yeah. Yes, he had four bamboo skewers in his stomach. From the many yakitori treats he received at the train station. Okay. And amazingly, they had not damaged his stomach at all. After his autopsy, Hachi's organs were preserved. Today, they are on display at the Museum of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo, where Professor Ueno taught for many years.

How strange. I know. It's like they took Charles Gatot's brain. I mean, yeah, I guess it's just funny, you know, he got that dog and only lived for another year. And, man, you would just never guess what would happen. There's an interesting quote from one of his former students. You know, Professor Ueno was so well respected. Yeah.

Really like I mentioned, like a founding father of agricultural. engineering in Japan. And one of his students, many years later, was like, who would have thought that his dog would be more famous than him? Because Professor Ueno was like a big deal. Right. He has a Wikipedia entry. I mean, that's a big thing. In addition, Hachi's pelt was removed and taken to a taxidermist to be made into a mount.

That Hachi mount is still on display today at the National Museum of Nassadermis. Nature and Science in Tokyo. So yes, you can see the stuffed Hachi in that museum. Should I look it up? Yeah, you can look up Hachi. I can just see in Richard Gere here. Yeah, we'll get into Richard Gear later. Oh, okay.

If you search Hatchie Mount Museum, you'll see the stuffed Hachi. Still very cute. Okay, if even the stuffed version is cute, you know this dog was cute in real life. Mm-hmm. Unless maybe they did some plastic surgery in the stuff. BBL. Yeah, I didn't write this part down. It took the taxidermist three months to make that.

He was like, I have to be super concise and careful with this because it was like a national icon, you know? Well, yeah. He took his time with Hachi. Couldn't talk much about it. It had to be concise. Oh, shit. Sorry. What word was I looking for?

I think the word was charisma. No. He had to be... Congaline. He had to be Congoline. He had to Cunga line. What other C words? Cunty.

He had to be serving cunt the whole time. Man. Again, it amazes me that I co-host a podcast and people listen to it. Norman, come on. No, he just, I mean, all eyes were going to be on this. This isn't just some couple who got their dog stuffed and it's going in their living room. This is a national treasure. Right, right.

He wanted to be careful. That was the word, C, careful. C is for careful. It's good enough for Hachie. The rest of Hachis remains were cremated, and his ashes were buried exactly where he wanted to be,

right next to Professor Ueno in the Aoyama Cemetery. It was actually really sweet. In his will, Professor Ueno asked that all of his dogs be buried next to him. The loyal dog Hachiko was gone. But the country would always remember him thanks to his bronze statue located at Shibuya Station.

Well, for a while at least. During World War II, Imperial Japan mobilized their civilians to collect anything they could to support the war effort. Oh no, did they take the statue? They did. That included metals like the bronze found in Hachi's statue. In October of 1944, Hachi's statue was taken down. Hito Kiki Saito, the man who helped make Hachi into a national hero, and a useful piece of propaganda for the government,

now pleaded with them to reconsider. He promised he could gather an equal amount of metal from somewhere else in exchange. My God, what's he going to do? I don't know if he was going to be turning tricks in an alley or what, but the government said, yeah, no thanks. We'll just take the statue. Hachi's statue was melted down sometime in 1945. But the government didn't stop at metal, though.

They came for the dogs, too. Even their own special native Japanese pure-bred dogs. Hachis breed, the Akita Inu, suffered greatly during the war. Thousands of families, too poor to feed themselves, sold their Akita dogs. The government used their meat to feed soldiers, and their fur to make coats. Some sources estimate that by the end of World War II, there were only around 16 to 30

pure-bred Akita dogs left in Japan. Wow. Writer Hayashi Masaharu wrote that during the war, quote, it was people's minds that had gone mad and wild. Their madness not only destroyed the Hachiko bronze statue, but also took the lives of companion dogs who were enduring hunger, but were looking at people with gentle eyes.

Despite Hiro Kichi Saito's questionable motives, his writing and research made him an authority on Japanese dogs. Sadly, many of his works wouldn't survive, including several of his writings on Hachi. They were destroyed during a massive air raid on Tokyo in May of 1945. During that same air raid, Hachi's sculptor, Tereu Ando, died. His original plaster statue of Hachi was also destroyed. On September 2nd, 1945, World War II finally ended with Japan's unconditional surrender.

And the nation looked to rebuild. They needed symbols of hope and peace. And soon a committee pitched the idea to recreate the Hachi statue at Shibuya Station. Initially, the American occupational government had some concerns about that, considering Hachi was known for his unwavering, loyalty. Oh. That's exactly what the American occupation forces were trying to change.

But Hachi's story took on a new meaning after the war. Those nationalistic undertones faded. Hachi came to symbolize peace, devotion, and unconditional love. And so the new Hachi statue was approved. Teru Ando's son, Takeshi Ando, took charge of the project. He could only go off of photographs since the arrival. since the original statues were destroyed, but in the end it was a near perfect replica,

complete with that floppy left ear. It was officially unveiled on August 15, 1948, in the plaza in front of Shibuya Station, known today as Hachiko Square, where the statue also remains today. That was the plaque, by the way. Yeah, we know. That same year, in 1948,

famous American author Helen Keller visited Japan and made a special visit to the Hachi statue. She was a big fan. Helen Keller had heard about Hachi during her first visit to Japan back in 1937. And Helen Keller became obsessed with Akita dogs. She had even taken an Akita puppy home with her, the very first Akita in the United States.

Oh. Fun fact, that dog's name was Kamah Oh. Now, that word has a whole new meaning today. Okay. But back in 1937... What did it mean back then? So kamikaze literally translates to divine wind.

Oh, okay. It's a special thing in Japanese culture. But yeah, after World War II, the term kamikaze... Right. Changed quite a bit. So yes, Helen Keller had an Akita puppy named Kamakazi. Sadly, the dog only lived for seven months. He died from the canine distemper virus.

Does it have a question mark at the end of it? Because I feel like it should have just a period. It should just be a normal disease. No exclamation points. Scientists couldn't decide what to call it, so they put a question mark on the end. You know, I feel like it's wrong. When a doctor walks in and goes, you have cancer? You have cancer?

My brother told me a funny story from college. He came back from class or something, and his roommate was cooking. He was like, hey, what are you making? And the roommate was like, I made nachos? He said it as like a question. I don't know what the hell happened here. I made nachos?

So, yeah. Helen Keller had a cute little Akita puppy, unfortunately named Kamakazi only lived seven months but a few years later Helen Keller got another Akita puppy named Go Go and that dog would live for nine years

So now in 1948 Helen Keller wanted to make sure she could stop and pay tribute to Hachi, the most famous Akita dog of the mall She later wrote quote The Akita dog has all the qualities that appeal to me

He is gentle, companionable and trusty. Helen Keller wasn't the only American within Akita, though. American GIs loved Akitas. And they took them home with them after the war, which really helped get the breed out of near

extinction. On April 30, 1961, Yaako Ueno passed away at the age of 75. She had requested to be buried next to her late husband in the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo, but Ueno's family

still holding a grudge against her, refused. Why? Oh, good grief. Get over it, assholes. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. It's okay. But that is how I feel. She was buried in Asakusa, a nearby district in Tokyo. But amazingly, in 2016, descendants of each family came together and got some of Yahu's ashes buried with her husband and Hachi. Good.

Yeah. Hidokichi Saito, the man who catapulted Hachi to fame, passed away on September 19, 1964. In addition to his organization, the Society for the Preservation of Japanese Dogs, which is still around today, by the way, Saito also founded the Japan Society for the Preventing of Cruelty to Animals, or the J-S-P-C-A.

A friend stated, quote, There was no person who genuinely loved dogs more than Mr. Saito. Hachi's incredible story eventually found its way outside Japan and resonated with people all over the world. And so it should come as no surprise that the film industry wanted to get involved. Kristen, there are two movies about Hachi. First up, we have the 1987 Japanese film Hachiko Monogatari, which translated means the tale of Hachiko. It was the highest earning movie of the year. It earned 5.4 billion yen.

Dang, okay. Now, just for inflation, it was like $100 million. Okay. I tried to watch this one, but I couldn't really find a good way to watch it. But I did hear it is just fabulous, five bags of popcorn. Then in 2009, we have the American film, Hachi, A Dog's Tale, starring Richard Gear and Joan Allen. Now, this one I did watch. It's free to watch on Tooby right now, by the way.

It destroyed you. And let me tell you, it was one of the saddest movies I have ever seen. I was a broken man afterward, and Kristen can confirm. I've never seen you like that. You were just, I mean, over a movie. It should come as no surprise, Kristen, that that movie had its television premiere on the Hallmark Channel. Yeah. Cool little story about that movie.

It was filmed in the small town of Woonsocket Rhode Island. and I guess they really, really loved the story of Hachi. And so the town put up their own Hachi statue in honor of Hachi and the film. It's an exact replica of the one in Japan, and it's located right in front of their train station. That's cute. Yeah. Speaking of statues, on March 9, 2015, a new Hachi statue was unveiled by the Department of Agriculture at the University of Tokyo. It depicts Hachi, jumping up to greet Professor Ueno at the end of a workday.

Writer Jessica Pahey commented that the statue, quote, is a true testament to the depths of a dog's heart, loving a human more than he loves himself. Will you actually look up that statue because I think it's just beautiful? Okay, what should I be Googling? Hachi Statue University of Tokyo. Oh, I love that. Yeah.

Well, and it shows the human love for a dog, too, that it's mutual. Yeah, and I think a lot of people were like, you know, with the other Hachi statue, it's just Hachi alone. Yeah. And it's like, you know, but Hachie's whole purpose was like to be with the professor. And so a lot of people campaigned for a statue with both of them. And this is what we have now. And it's lovely. It captures what we do for each other.

Yeah. You know, you see this guy with, and the statue includes his briefcases down on the floor. So to me, that's, yeah, now I'm home. I'm home because I'm with my dog. It's work's not important. This is what's important. Yeah. A dog's love truly is special.

Hachi definitely proved that. And I'd like to end this story with a quote from a Japanese novelist named Yukio Togawa. He was famous for writing animal novels. He's kind of like the Jack London of Japan. Togoa grew up during Hachi's time, and he met many of the people involved. And in his opinion, Hachi's story is simply the perfect example of why we love dogs.

He wrote, quote, unlike human beings, dogs do not betray people they love. They can be trusted. They do not love you because they feel they are indebted to you. They do not love you because you are taking care of them. They don't have ulterior motives. They love you because you love them.

Their love is genuine. And that's the story of the loyal dog, Hachi. Oh, that was beautiful. By the way, if you would like to celebrate Hachi, April 8th is Hachiko Day in Japan. Oh. Which coincidentally is when this episode will drop on the main feed. Norm.

And I swear to you in all the stars above, I did not plan that at all. I was about to accuse you of being a brilliant business cat, but clearly you're a brilliant business dog. That's right. Ooh, emotional episode. Yep. Folks, I don't know if you got the vibe, but I was silently sobbing through parts of that. Try not to listen to that one at work. The boss will call HR.

And you'll be like, I just love my job so much. Sometimes I get emotional about it. I'm trying because I'm so happy to be working here. I'm so happy to be working here at Michaels. Sometimes the artificial flowers get to me. Well, Kristen, as we navigate away from this emotional episode, we move into the slop. That was a beautiful slop.

You know, we thought we were going to talk about Lindy West's new memoir and polyamory and all the internet being a buzz and saying, oh, let me explain to you who Lindy West is. Ten years ago, it's very offensive to me. As an old feminist who thinks that everyone knows who Lindy West is, instead, we decided to talk about our history with dogs. It was very sweet, very heartwarming. No polyamory involved. And our editor Joe has.

a very sweet dog named wonder I wonder if he'll put a photo of wonder he better or he's fired oh I'm just kidding just kidding uh but yes I hope you all enjoyed that episode on a very loyal dog yeah well done Norm you know what they say about history hoes we always cite our sources that's right for this episode I got my information from the books, Hachi, The Truth of the Life and Legend of the Most Famous Dog in Japan by Mayumi Ito.

And the article, Fascism's Furry Friends. Oh. Dog's National Identity and the Purity of Blood in 1930s, Japan. Oh, shit. By Aaron Scabeland. Plus several other sources.

Check the show notes. That's all for this episode. Thank you for listening to an old-timey podcast. Please give us a five-star review wherever you listen to podcasts. And while you're at it, subscribe. Support us on

Patreon at patreon.com slash old-timey podcast. Join the Reddit community, R slash old-timey podcast. Follow us on Facebook and YouTube and Instagram at Old Timey Podcast. You can also follow us individual in Instagram. She is the gorgeous Kristen Pitts-Karuso. I go by Gaming Historian, and until next time,

Tudaloo, Tata, and Cheerio. Bye. See ya. See ya.