HACHI Hachiko

Hachiko was born on November 10, 1923 on a farm near Odate City, Akita Prefecture. In 1924, Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor at the Imperial University of Tokyo, took him in as a pet in Shibuya, Tokyo. Hachiko greeted Ueno at Shibuya Station every day after he came home. This lasted until May 21, 1925, when Ueno died of a cerebral hemorrhage while at work. From then until his death on March 8, 1935, Hachiko would commute to Shibuya Station every day, waiting for Ueno’s return.

During his lifetime, dogs have been featured in Japanese culture as examples of loyalty and fidelity. After his death, he continues to be remembered around the world in popular culture in statues, films and books. Hachiko is known in Japanese as “Faithful Dog Hachiko”. Hachi means “eight” and the suffix “kou” comes from what was once used for dukes in ancient China. Therefore, Hachiko can be loosely translated as either “Mr. Eight” or “Sir Eight”. Currently, $HACHI’s only journey is to educate the public about lessons about loyalty. Many projects launched claim to be of Japanese origin, but betray their owners.