Over A 'Red Gate', You Can See Happy Hachikou Dog!

I have been writing about red color recently in my posts (on the September 21st and 27th). In the connection, actually there is a famous landmark called "Red Gate" in Tokyo. The gate was originally built for a premises of a Samurai lord, Maeda family, during Tokugawa shogunate era. However, after modern times it became a property of Tokyo University. Then it became so famous as a gate of Tokyo University, now the word itself is used as a common name of the University.

Last year, a new "sight to see" was added on the main campus (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo). It is a new statue of the "Hachikou dog", which is a historical royal dog that has became a model of the Hollywood movie "Hachi". 

There is already a statue of Hachikou in front of Shibuya Station that has been the most famous landmark of Shibuya for a long time(I have introduced it in my post previously on the October 11th in 2015). 

Although the Hachikou statue in front of Shibuya Station has been a very popular landmark and tourist spot, some people were saying that "Poor Hachikou, he is still waiting for his owner alone" because the statue dog is sitting alone there as actual Hachikou was waiting for his dead owner. Thus Tokyo University decided to build a new statue of Hachikou with his owne on campus and the statue was just finished last year.

Why Tokyo University built it? Actually his owner was a professor of Tokyo University's department of agriculture, and the professor Ueno died during his tenure of office. Then, now we can see happy figures of Hachikou and professor Ueno together on the Hongo campus of Tokyo University as you can see in the lower photos above. The statue was designed to represent the scene that Hachikou used to be welcoming his owner at Shibuya Station every evening.

Look at the Hachikou's smile! Finally he could meet his owner after 90 years.