Ueno Hidesaburō

Bust of Hidesaburō Ueno

Tomb of Hidesaburō Ueno in Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo. The stele with the large characters on the right side was erected in memory of his dog Hachikō.

Ueno Hidesaburō ( Japanese 上 野 英 三郎 ; born January 19, 1871 in Hisai , today Tsu , Mie Prefecture ; † May 21, 1925 in Tokyo ) was a Japanese agronomist . However, he only became generally known in Japan posthumously as the owner of the Akita dog Hachikō, famous for his loyalty .

Ueno graduated from the Imperial University of Tokyo with a degree in agriculture in 1895 and his diploma in 1900. Then he was there assistant professor and from 1902 associate professor at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences. In 1916 he became a professor at the Imperial University, where he headed the agricultural engineering department. The technique he developed for the recultivation of arable land was used in Tokyo after the Kanto earthquake in 1923 .

Ueno died of a cerebral haemorrhage during a lecture on May 21, 1925 . His dog Hachikō became famous in Japan because he waited for his deceased master every day at Tokyo's Shibuya train station for almost ten years until his own death on March 8, 1935 . A memorial to the dog was erected at the station.

Hachiko's (and Ueno's) story has been implemented several times in books and films, including the 2009 film Hachiko - A Wonderful Friendship .

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Ueno is the family name, Hidesaburō the first name.