The Hachiko Statue is one of the most famous landmarks of the city of Tokyo. Located right in front of the Shibuya Station, it serves as a popular meeting place in the city.
Hachiko is a bonze statue of an Akita-ken breed dog, located in front of the Shibuyu Station. The statue faces the station and shows the dog in a sitting posture. The place where the statue is located is also referred to as the Hachiko exit.
Hachiko is more than a statue or a tale, he was a real dog who's story is known throughout Japan and the world today.
Hachiko was born in 1923 in the city of Odate Japan in the Akita prefecture. He came to Tokyo with his owner, a professor of agriculture at the University of Tokyo named Eisaburo Ueno. Each morning his master would set out for the local train station called the Shibuya Station. Hachiko made a habit of waiting for his master's return each day at the station where the two would meet and journey home together.
In 1925 professor Ueno died from a stroke while at the university and never returned home. After his death his wife sold their home as she prepared to move. She gave the dog to some friends nearby who agreed to care for Hachiko but it would not last. Hachiko soon departed his new home and returned to the station and the old home where he continued to follow the routine and await his master's return for 10 years. Hachiko died in 1935.
Soon after his dead, Hachiko was immemorialized in statue form as the symbol of legendary faithfulness.