By TAKUYA MIYANO/ Staff Writer
March 27, 2024 at 08:00 JST
Hachiko is seen with Kenji Gomi’s father Kasaburo. (Provided by Kenji Gomi)
A rare photo of Hachiko in old age has emerged a century after the birth of the Japanese Akita Inu dog celebrated around the world for his remarkable loyalty to his owner.
The image was provided by a reader of The Asahi Shimbun who lives in Tokyo.
Hachiko was born in 1923. He used to wait for his master’s return at JR Shibuya Station in Tokyo every day for nearly 10 years after his death.
The dog is immortalized in a bronze statue that stands in front of the station in the capital’s Shibuya Ward.
The photo shows Hachiko with droopy ears, seen with the reader’s father.
“It is a rare photo that clearly shows him during his last years,” said a curator well-versed in the canine, aka Hachi.
The photo was provided by Kenji Gomi, 91, who lives in the western Tokyo city of Akiruno.
His father Kasaburo was a worker at Shibuya Station between 1933 and 1935, the year Hachiko died.
Kasaburo died of tuberculosis in 1938 when his son was 5 years old, and his mother had kept the photo in an album.
In the photo, Kasaburo is seen dressed as a station worker feeding Hachiko as the dog raises its paw.
With his ears clearly drooped, Hachiko clearly is in his twilight years.
Keita Matsui, 56, a curator at the Shibuya Folk and Literary Shirane Memorial Museum, said the photo was apparently taken between 1934 and 1935, citing the characteristics of Hachiko’s collar.
It is exceptional for Hachiko to be seen in a photo wearing the collar and showing his left shoulder, he added.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Hachiko beginning to live in the Shibuya district.
Matsui said he was surprised by the discovery of a new photo after all these years.
“The fact that people who took photos with Hachiko still cherish the photos shows how he has been beloved for generations,” the curator said. “I’m glad (for the photo) to be seen in the year that deserves to be commemorated.”
Gomi said he decided to provide the photo after seeing a picture of Hachiko published in The Asahi Shimbun last year.
“For me, the photo is like a keepsake from my father,” he said. “He would have been happy if people had seen it.”
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