Rare photos of loyal dog Hachiko among 250 items at Tokyo museum exhibition

TOKYO — Previously unreleased photos of Shibuya’s iconic loyal dog Hachiko, immortalized in the ward’s tourist-drawing statue, are currently on display at a Tokyo museum exhibit.

About 250 photos, writings and other materials about the famed canine are on display at the Shibuya Folk and Literary Shirane Memorial Museum’s “Hachiko’s 100th birthday celebration” exhibition. The museum ran a similar special exhibition in 2013, but this one is publicly displaying three photos of the dog for the first time.

One of the newly displayed photos shows the dog in front of the first bronze statue bearing his likeness and three kids who were visiting from Kobe. This photo was discovered after one of the boys’ bereaved family members contacted the museum after the exhibition started in late August. The two others feature close-ups of the legendary pet, who is said to have faithfully waited at Shibuya Station for his owner Dr. Hidesaburo Ueno years after Ueno’s death.

According to the museum’s curator Keita Matsui, photos showing both the dog and his statue are rare, as Hachiko died 11 months after it was completed. There were previously also few photos or other evidence to support of hearsay that people had traveled from other regions in Japan to visit the dog. The photo supports the understanding that Hachiko was already popular before his death.

The other two photos were taken by the late Moriyoshi Kumagai of Katase Photo Studio in the city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, attained through the museum’s request for materials from the photographer’s living relatives. The close-ups, one with Hachi looking straight at the camera and another showing him turning to the side, are thought to have been taken at Shibuya Station in 1934. Matsui said photos showing the dog just turning his head at the same spot are rare.

Other photos show the loyal dog’s owner, the unveiling ceremony for the Hachiko statue as it was rebuilt after the war and a smaller statue cast by its sculptor, Takeshi Ando.

Additionally, Norio Nakagawa’s 1958 film “Hachiko Monogatari” (The story of Hachiko) will be shown with free admission on Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and Oct. 7 through 9. “I hope people will deepen their understanding of Hachiko’s story through this exhibition,” Matsui said.

The exhibit is open until Oct. 9, except on Oct. 2, when the museum is closed. Admission is 100 yen (about 67 cents) for those of high school age or older, and 50 yen (approx. 33 cents) for elementary and middle school students. The museum’s website is located at https://shibuya-muse.jp/exhibition/753/ (in Japanese).

(Japanese original by Kazuo Yanagisawa, Tokyo City News Department)