Statue of Hachikō

Statue of Hachikō
Statue of Hachikō
Japanese:Trung khuyển ハチ công tượng (Chūken Hachikō-zō)
	The statue in 2013
Artist	Takeshi Andō
Year	1948
Medium	Bronze sculpture
Subject	Hachikō
Location	Tokyo,Japan
	35°39′32.6″N139°42′2.1″E/ 35.659056°N 139.700583°E

A statue of theAkita dog Hachikō,remembered for his unwavering loyalty to his deceased owner, is installed outsideTokyo'sShibuya Station,inJapan.

History

In April 1934, a bronze statue based in his likeness sculpted byTeru Andō[ja]was erected atShibuya Station,and Hachikō himself was present at its unveiling. The statue was recycled for the war effort duringWorld War II.

In 1948, the Society for Recreating the Hachikō Statue commissioned^{[citation needed]}Takeshi Andō, son of the original artist, to make a second statue. When the new statue appeared, a dedication ceremony occurred.^[1]The new statue, which was erected in August 1948, still stands and is a popular meeting spot. The station entrance near this statue is named "Hachikō-guchi", meaning "The Hachikō Entrance/Exit", and is one of Shibuya Station's five exits.

The Japan Timesplayed an April Fools' joke on readers by reporting that the bronze statue was stolen a little before 2:00 AM on April 1, 2007, by "suspected metal thieves". The false story told a very detailed account of an elaborate theft by men wearing khaki workers' uniforms who secured the area with orange safety cones and obscured the theft with blue vinyl tarps. The "crime" was allegedly recorded on security cameras.^[2]

The city of Odate considered borrowing the statue during redevelopment of the Shibuya Station ahead of the2020 Summer Olympics.^[3]

Reception

Time Out Tokyosays the statue "might be Japan's most famous example ofpublic art".^[4]In 2019,Free Malaysia Todaydescribed the statue as "a 'must' visit when in Tokyo".^[5]

Gallery

The statue surrounded by a crowd of people in 2016
Shibuya Hachikō Front Square (Hachikō-mae hiroba), with the statue in lower-left.
Crowd of people gathered around the (1st) statue of Hachikō in honor of the one year anniversary of his death on March 8, 1936.
Still from 1953 filmLove Letter

References

^Newman, Lesléa.Hachiko Waits.Macmillan, 2004.91 Archived2019-07-26 at theWayback Machine.Retrieved fromGoogle Bookson February 25, 2011.ISBN 0-8050-7336-1,ISBN 978-0-8050-7336-2.
^"METAL THIEVES SUSPECTED: Shibuya's 'loyal dog Hachiko' vanishes overnight".The Japan Times. April 1, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon December 22, 2011.
^Murai, Shusuke (2016-01-20)."Famed dog Hachiko's home city wants loan of much-loved statue".The Japan Times Online.ISSN 0447-5763.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-01-25.Retrieved2020-01-25.
^Time Out Guides, Ltd (2010).Time Out Tokyo.Time Out Guides.ISBN 9781846701214.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-03.Retrieved2020-01-25.
^"Hachiko statue: A 'must' visit when in Tokyo".Free Malaysia Today.2019-01-04.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-01-25.Retrieved2020-01-25.

External links

Media related toStatue of Hachiko (Shibuya)at Wikimedia Commons
Statue of HachikoatFodor's
Hachikō StatueatLonely Planet

[1] Newman, Lesléa.Hachiko Waits.Macmillan, 2004.91 Archived2019-07-26 at theWayback Machine.Retrieved fromGoogle Bookson February 25, 2011.ISBN 0-8050-7336-1,ISBN 978-0-8050-7336-2.

[2] "METAL THIEVES SUSPECTED: Shibuya's 'loyal dog Hachiko' vanishes overnight".The Japan Times. April 1, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon December 22, 2011.

[3] Murai, Shusuke (2016-01-20)."Famed dog Hachiko's home city wants loan of much-loved statue".The Japan Times Online.ISSN 0447-5763.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-01-25.Retrieved2020-01-25.

[4] Time Out Guides, Ltd (2010).Time Out Tokyo.Time Out Guides.ISBN 9781846701214.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-03.Retrieved2020-01-25.

[5] "Hachiko statue: A 'must' visit when in Tokyo".Free Malaysia Today.2019-01-04.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-01-25.Retrieved2020-01-25.

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