Statue of Hachikō
{{Short description|Statue in Tokyo, Japan}}
{{Infobox artwork
| title = Statue of Hachikō
| italic title = no
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| other_language_1 = Japanese
| other_title_1 = {{noitalic|忠犬ハチ公像 (}}Chūken Hachikō-zō{{noitalic|)}}
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| caption = The statue in 2013
| artist = Takeshi Andō
| year = {{start date|1948}}
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| medium = Bronze sculpture
| movement =
| subject = Hachikō
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| city = Tokyo, Japan
| coordinates = {{Coord|35|39|32.6|N|139|42|2.1|E|type:landmark_scale:1000|display=inline, title}}
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-zoom = 13
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A statue of the Akita dog Hachikō, remembered for his unwavering loyalty to his deceased owner, is installed outside Tokyo's Shibuya Station, in Japan.
History
In April 1934, a bronze statue based in his likeness sculpted by {{ill|Teru Andō|ja|安藤照}} was erected at Shibuya Station, and Hachikō himself was present at its unveiling. The statue was recycled for the war effort during World War II.
In 1948, the Society for Recreating the Hachikō Statue commissioned{{Citation needed|date=February 2011}} Takeshi Andō, son of the original artist, to make a second statue. When the new statue appeared, a dedication ceremony occurred.Newman, Lesléa. Hachiko Waits. Macmillan, 2004. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EaYX31sk98AC&pg=PA91&dq=Hachiko+statue 91] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726060404/https://books.google.com/books?id=EaYX31sk98AC&pg=PA91&dq=Hachiko+statue |date=2019-07-26 }}. Retrieved from Google Books on February 25, 2011. {{ISBN|0-8050-7336-1}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8050-7336-2}}. 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 Times played 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.{{cite news|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/april_fool_a.html |title=METAL THIEVES SUSPECTED: Shibuya's 'loyal dog Hachiko' vanishes overnight |date=April 1, 2007 |publisher=The Japan Times |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222100255/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/april_fool_a.html |archivedate=December 22, 2011 }}
The city of Odate considered borrowing the statue during redevelopment of the Shibuya Station ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics.{{Cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/01/20/national/famed-dog-hachikos-home-city-wants-loan-much-loved-statue/|title=Famed dog Hachiko's home city wants loan of much-loved statue|last=Murai|first=Shusuke|date=2016-01-20|work=The Japan Times Online|access-date=2020-01-25|language=en-US|issn=0447-5763|archive-date=2020-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125155838/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/01/20/national/famed-dog-hachikos-home-city-wants-loan-much-loved-statue/|url-status=live}}
Reception
Time Out Tokyo says the statue "might be Japan's most famous example of public art".{{Cite book|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=fVKQDCx4V80C&pg=PA241|title = Time Out Tokyo|isbn = 9781846701214|last1 = Time Out Guides|first1 = Ltd|year = 2010| publisher=Time Out Guides |access-date = 2020-01-25|archive-date = 2022-01-03|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220103015846/https://books.google.com/books?id=fVKQDCx4V80C&pg=PA241|url-status = live}} In 2019, Free Malaysia Today described the statue as "a 'must' visit when in Tokyo".{{Cite web|url=https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2019/01/04/hachiko-statue-a-must-visit-when-in-tokyo/|title=Hachiko statue: A 'must' visit when in Tokyo|last=|first=|date=2019-01-04|website=Free Malaysia Today|language=en-GB|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125161954/https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2019/01/04/hachiko-statue-a-must-visit-when-in-tokyo/|archive-date=2020-01-25|access-date=2020-01-25}}
See also
Gallery
File:Shibuya, Tokio, Japón 2016-12 (32046064901).jpg|The statue surrounded by a crowd of people in 2016
File:Hachiko-1.jpg|Shibuya Hachikō Front Square (Hachikō-mae hiroba), with the statue in lower-left.
File:One anniversary of Hachiko 19360308 Scan10038.JPG|Crowd of people gathered around the (1st) statue of Hachikō in honor of the one year anniversary of his death on March 8, 1936.
File:Koibumi (1953).jpg|Still from 1953 film Love Letter
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Japan|Visual arts}}
- {{Commons category-inline|Statue of Hachiko (Shibuya)}}
- [https://www.fodors.com/world/asia/japan/tokyo/things-to-do/sights/reviews/statue-of-hachiko-162758 Statue of Hachiko] at Fodor's
- [https://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/tokyo/attractions/hachiko-statue/a/poi-sig/396603/356817 Hachikō Statue] at Lonely Planet
{{Public art in Tokyo}}
Category:1934 establishments in Japan
Category:1948 establishments in Japan
Category:Bronze sculptures in Japan
Category:Buildings and structures in Shibuya
Category:Monuments and memorials in Japan