New YouTube Video: “Reminisce – JACAR: Children from Japan and the U.S. Joined by Hachiko: Based on Diplomatic Papers from 90 Years Ago”

Hachikō, the Akita dog immortalized in a famous statue at Shibuya Station, continues to capture hearts worldwide. Born in Ōdate City, Akita Prefecture, Hachi (as he was known) passed away on the streets of Shibuya on March 8, 1935. The fame he had garnered over the course of his life meant that his death received widespread coverage in Japanese newspapers. News of his death soon made waves across the ocean in the United States, too.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of Hachikō’s passing. In commemoration, JACAR has released a new YouTube video, “Reminisce – JACAR: Children from Japan and the U.S. Joined by Hachiko: Based on Diplomatic Papers from 90 Years Ago”

 

Click the image to open the video.

 

○Exploring Social Conditions Through Prewar Diplomatic Records

“Reminisce – JACAR” is a video series that presents archival materials from JACAR in a narrative format.

The key documents featuring in the latest video installment come from the Prewar Diplomatic Records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a collection of materials detailing Japan’s diplomatic activities from the ministry’s founding until the end of World War II. This archive consists of approximately 48,000 bound volumes (files), stored at the Diplomatic Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with many available online through JACAR. In addition to providing essential sources for studying the history of Japanese diplomacy, the documents also serve as valuable means of understanding the social conditions of the time.

Item: “Miscellaneous documents relating to Japanese memorial items” (Ref. B04012313800, image 4)

 

One group (item) of available documents comprises “Documents relating to ‘Faithful Dog, Hachi,’” the 14th subdivision of the “Miscellaneous documents relating to Japanese memorial items” volume. In these diplomatic documents, one finds a fascinating account of how Hachikō’s story connected children in Japan and the United States. For more details, we invite you to watch the video.

There are more materials beyond the ones that appear in the video, as well. Read on to learn more.

 

○The Story Behind the Hachikō Taxidermy Mount

Today, a taxidermy mount of Hachikō is on permanent display in the Japan Gallery at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno, Tokyo.

(Image courtesy of the National Museum of Nature and Science)

 

The mount was first unveiled at the museum’s predecessor, the Tokyo Science Museum, on June 15, 1935—three months after Hachikō’s passing. The diplomatic records in the “Documents relating to ‘Faithful Dog, Hachi,’” also include materials with connections to the exhibit.

One is a letter dated June 20, 1935, just five days after the mount made its debut. The letter was from AKIHO Yasuji, the museum’s director, to YAMASHITA Risaburō of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ American Bureau (First Section).

Item: “Miscellaneous documents relating to Japanese memorial items / 14. Documents relating to ‘Faithful Dog, Hachi’” (Ref. B04012315200, image 13)

 

In the letter, Director Akiho expresses gratitude for the valuable “reference materials” that the ministry provided on loan, stating that they greatly enriched the experience for museum visitors.

 

But what exactly were these “reference materials” that the museum borrowed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

A clue lies in a postcard in the same archival collection from a man named Mr. Kubokawa to the ministry’s American Bureau. The postcard is dated June 19, 1935—just four days after the taxidermy exhibit opened and one day before Director Akiho’s letter.

Item: “Miscellaneous documents relating to Japanese memorial items / 14. Documents relating to ‘Faithful Dog, Hachi’” (Ref. B04012315200, image 6)

 

On the topic of the museum exhibit, the postcard states that the museum put “newspaper clippings and other items” it had borrowed on display in the exhibit. The writer says he immediately contacted the museum after receiving a postcard from the ministry and assured the recipient that the relevant items would be mailed back by the following day or so.

 

As the video explains, news of Hachikō’s death elicited a response in the United States. An event involving children took place, for example, garnering coverage in American newspapers. Copies of the articles on the event were subsequently sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan.

Given the clues in Director Akiho’s letter and Mr. Kubokawa’s postcard, it is likely that these American newspaper articles were temporary additions to the Hachikō’s taxidermy exhibit when it first opened (see the segment of the video from 3:52 to 4:19).

There is a good possibility, then, that the enthusiastic American response to Hachikō’s story evident in the video may have reached Japanese museum visitors at the time, as well.

 

Interestingly, Mr. Kubokawa’s name appears repeatedly in these archival documents. He served as the caretaker for UENO Yaeko, the widow of Dr. UENO Hidesaburō, Hachikō’s owner (see “Documents relating to ‘Faithful Dog, Hachi,’” image 34). As part of his role, Kubokawa worked together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, collecting letters of appreciation from Japanese children.

 

○Hachikō’s Owner: Dr. UENO Hidesaburō

The prewar diplomatic records from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are not the only materials in JACAR’s digital database that help tell the Hachikō story. Items in the holdings of the National Archives of Japan, for instance, shed light on Dr. UENO Hidesaburō, Hachikō’s owner.

Item: “Honoring Tokyo Imperial University Professor Ueno Hidesaburō” (Ref. A10113007300, images 1, 2, and 4)

 

Dr. Ueno was a pioneering scholar in agricultural civil engineering in Japan. He cherished Hachi when he was just a young, weak pup, letting him sleep in his bed. Although he often walked to work at Tokyo Imperial University’s Faculty of Agriculture, Ueno was also a frequent user of Shibuya Station. Hachikō would accompany him on these walks to Shibuya, waiting for him to come back. However, on May 21, 1925, Dr. Ueno suffered a fatal stroke on campus and never returned. The official documents formalizing his posthumous reception of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon detail his significant contributions to his field.

 

■Bibliography

• • • HAYASHI Masaharu, ed. Hachikō bunkenshū [A collection of documents on Hachikō]. 1991.
    • Shibuya Folk and Literary Shirane Memorial Museum, ed. Tokubetsu-ten: Hachikō [Special exhibit: Hachikō]. Shibuya Folk and Literary Shirane Memorial Museum, 2013.
    • ICHINOSE Masaki and MASAKI Haruhiko. Tōdai Hachikō monogatari [Narratives of Hachi, Professor Ueno, and the University of Tokyo]. University of Tokyo Press, 2015.

 

■ Related JACAR content

Is today’s Hachikō statue the second one? | Japan’s Wartime and Postwar Periods Recorded: Transformation of Japan’s Governance Structure (in Japanese)

 

■National Museum of Nature and Science

The National Museum of Nature and Science, founded in 1877, is one of Japan’s most historic museums. It stands as the only national comprehensive science museum dedicated to the history of nature, science, and technology.
The museum’s Ueno Main Building is home to two wings: the Japan Gallery and the Global Gallery. Hachikō’s taxidermy mount is on display in the Japan Gallery, which explores the history of Japan’s relationship with nature and much more.

National Museum of Nature and Science website

(Image courtesy of the National Museum of Nature and Science)

 

(Japan Center for Asian Historical Records)