Posted By: Michael-Ann Cerniglia
Posted On: January 4, 2015
Hachiko is a beautiful, true story about a loyal dog who waits for his owner, Dr. Ueno, outside Tokyo’s Shibuya train station every day. This story is told through the eyes of a fictional boy, Kentaro, who befriends Hachiko in Shibuya station. Even after Dr. Ueno’s death, Hachiko continues to wait faithfully in the same spot for his owner’s return, every day for ten years. After Hachiko’s death, a statue is placed in his honor, which can be visited today in Shibuya Station.
School Library Journal has this listed as grades 1-4 and my PK and third grader loved it equally, though appreciated it in different ways. For both girls, it was a good book for discussing human experiences such as love, loyalty, and loss. The book also introduces Japanese cultural terms and vocabulary such as: samurai, tabi socks, and soybean cake. My four year old was able to understand that the story took place in another country and we talked about basic geography such as where Japan, Tokyo, and Shibuya Station is. My third grader was able to delve deeper into some of the information shared at the end of the story, such as the fact that the original statue was melted down during WWII. That initiated an interesting discussion about war, resources, and weaponry.
I give Hachiko five stars because I think that it is a great book that speaks to common values and human experiences that children focus on in early years. Though the book is not heavy with Japanese culture or history, the shared human experiences are told through the story of a dog in Japan, and the book opens doors to talk about that specific culture. It gives young students common ground to feel something for Hachiko, the statue that stands in Tokyo, that many other Japanese children also feel. Additionally, ceremonies for Hachiko are held at the time of the cherry blossom festival, which gives more to talk about, in addition to the discussion of smelting the statue during WWII.
It is also worth mentioning that there are two films made about Hachiko, one in Japanese and one in English. Hachi-ko Monogatari was released in Japan in 1987 and an English language version of the film, Hachi, was released in the US with Richard Gere in 2009. The latter was filmed in Rhode Island at Woonsocket Depot Square where a permanent replica statue of Hachiko was dedicated during an annual Rhode Island Cherry Blossom Festival.