Famous Akitas: real dogs behind the breed's legend

Part 1

Hachiko, the Akita who waited

Hachiko was born in mid-November 1923 near Odate, in Akita Prefecture. Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor in the agriculture department at Tokyo Imperial University, had a student acquire the puppy for him, and the dog arrived at his home near Shibuya Station in early 1924. Each morning Hachiko walked with Ueno to the station, and each evening he waited there for him to return. These dogs are large, with a gentle composure and thick, fluffy coats, and they are considered especially loyal to their owners.

On May 21, 1925, Ueno suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at work and died suddenly, at age 53. Hachiko kept returning to Shibuya Station to wait for him, even after several moves to new homes. He continued the wait for almost ten years, until his own death on March 8, 1935. You can still see his preserved pelt at the National Science Museum of Japan in Tokyo.

A bronze statue of Hachiko was unveiled outside Shibuya Station in April 1934, with the dog himself present at the ceremony. It still stands today, and the station exit beside it is named the Hachiko entrance. If you visit, you will find it remains one of Tokyo's most popular meeting spots.

Part 2

Helen Keller's Akitas

Helen Keller visited Japan in 1937 and heard the story of Hachiko, who had died two years before. She told her hosts she would love to own an Akita of her own, and before she left the country she was given a puppy named Kamikaze-Go. He was the first Akita to live in the United States.

Kamikaze-Go died of distemper at only seven and a half months old. When the Japanese government learned of Keller's grief, they sent her his younger brother, Kenzan-Go, in 1939. Keller nicknamed the new dog Go-Go, and he slept at the foot of her bed from his first night in her home.

Keller called Kamikaze-Go her angel in fur. In an earlier essay, she had already written about her deep love for dogs, saying she could not imagine anyone failing to love them. As Americans read about her dogs and saw photographs of them, more people wanted Akitas of their own, and a breed standard and the first Akita dog shows followed.

Part 3

Akitas honored by Japan

Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs designates the Akita-inu a natural monument. The breed is thought to have developed in the 1630s, when Matagi hunting dogs were crossed with local dogs to produce animals skilled at fighting.

Saito Hirokichi, founder of the Japanese Dog Preservation Society, wrote the 1932 newspaper article that first brought Hachiko's story to wide attention. The Akita Inu Preservation Society, based in Odate, keeps its own statue of Hachiko.

• A statue stands at Odate Station, near his birthplace.
• The Akita Inu Preservation Society in Odate keeps a statue of him as well.
• A statue at the University of Tokyo shows Hachiko reunited with Professor Ueno.
• A replica statue stands at Woonsocket Depot in Rhode Island, where part of the American film was set.

Part 4

Akitas in modern public life

A Japanese film called Hachiko Monogatari appeared in 1987, and an American remake, Hachi: A Dog's Tale, starring Richard Gere, followed in 2009. Gere also produced the American film and said reading the script moved him to tears.

The Shibuya statue sits beside the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, often described as one of the busiest pedestrian crossings in the world. An annual ceremony is held at the statue to honor Hachiko's memory, drawing crowds who leave flowers. Visitors reaching out to touch the statue over the decades have worn its bronze legs to a shine. You can visit the statue any day, since it stands outdoors and free of charge.

Keller's Akitas helped introduce the breed to American dog owners, who went on to establish shows and standards for it.

Part 5

Why so many Akita stories center on loyalty

Hachiko waited for an owner who could not return, for almost ten years, until his own death. Keller's Akitas, in a different way, were close companions to her at home. Akitas were originally bred for fighting ability, but Hachiko became known for his patient loyalty instead.

People worldwide see the Akita as loyal to its owner, with a gentle composure and a thick, fluffy coat. The Akita-inu is designated a natural monument by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Loyalty in an individual dog still depends on how you raise and treat them, whatever the breed's history says.