A dog like the Hachikō generally doesn’t need an introduction. Hachikō, a symbol of unwavering love and loyalty, became a cultural phenomenon and an icon not just in his own country of Japan but also throughout the entire world.

On a farm in Ōdate, Akita Prefecture, Japan, in the late fall of 1923, the golden-brown, pure-bred Akita was born.

After a year, Hachikō was taken in by Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor, who adopted him and lived with him in Shibuya, Tokyo. Hidesaburō Ueno was a professor at Tokyo Imperial University’s department of agriculture.

The man would ride the train to work and return to find his devoted dog waiting for him. The astute dog would leave the house at the end of the day and wait for his owner at Shibuya Station.

Sadly, Hidesaburō Ueno disappeared on May 21, 1925. After having a brain hemorrhage during a lecture, he passed away without ever going back to the train station where Hachikō was waiting for him.