Be Faithful Even to The Point of Death

The Story of Hachiko (Story told by Pastor Simon Siew), Hachiko is the most famous dog of Japan.  Hachiko was the faithful Akita of a Japanese University professor.  He is the perfect example of the bond that can exist between animals and humans.

Hachiko was born in Akita in 1923 and was brought to Tokyo in 1924.  He and his owner, Mr Eisaburo Uyeno, were inseparable friends right from the start.

Each day "Haichi" would accompany Mr Eisaburo, a professor at the Imperial University, to the train station when he left for work.

Upon returning, the professor would find the dog patiently waiting for him at the train station with his tail wagging.  Every day Hachiko would arrive at the station exactly on time (3 p.m.) to await his master's commuter train and would return home together with him.

This happy routine continue until one fateful day on May 21, 1925, when the professor suffered a stroke and died before he could return home.

The Akita must have known something was wrong, but still he returned to the station every day at 3.00 p.m. to meet this train.

He was less than two years old at the time but the bond between the dog and master was strong as he would continue to wait each day at Shibuya Station for a friend who was never coming back.

Soon people began to take notice of the loyal dog's futile trips to meet his master.

Ueno's former gardener, the Shibuya Station master, and others began feeding Hachiko and giving him shelter.

Word about Hachiko's unaltered routine spread across the nation, and he was held up as a shining example of  loyalty (chu-ken). People traveled to Shibuya simply to see him, feed him, and gently touch his head for luck.

This Akita dog became familiar sight to comuters as he kept coming to the station for 10 years before walking  home again, sad and alone.  At times, he wouldn't return home for days at a stretch.

The months turned to years and still Hachiko returned to Shibuya Station daily at 3 p.m. even as arthritis and aging took their toll on him.

On March 8, 1935, the 12 year old faithful Akita finally died on the very same spot he last saw his friend alive.

Hachiko's death made the front pages of major Japenese newspaper and a day of mourning was declared.  People were so touched by his loyalty that contributions poured in from all over the country to memorialize the dog that had won the hearts of the nation.

The famous artist Mr Ando Teru was commisioned to make a bronzed sculpture of him, and it was erected in 1934 outside the Shibuya railroad station in Tokyo.

If a dog can be so faithful and wait for His master, what about us?

Revelation 2:10 says, "Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." What a wonderful promise....

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