37 pages • 1-hour read
Hachiko Waits
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Chapter 9-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and animal death.
Yasuo is now 16 years old, and Mr. Yoshikawa’s hair has become gray. When Yasuo gets off the train after school, he wakes up Hachiko, who has become very weak and tired. It is the 10-year anniversary of the Professor’s death. Yasuo tells the dog, in the exact same words that the Professor used to use, that he is “the best dog in all of Japan” (70). As a train approaches, Hachiko perks up and struggles to his feet. He barks loudly and then collapses to the floor. Yasuo watches as Hachiko takes a few deep breaths and then stops breathing. Horrified, Yasuo yells for Mr. Yoshikawa to come help. Mr. Yoshikawa comes, and he sees that Hachiko has passed away. A group of onlookers gathers around Hachiko’s body, and the yakitori vendor gives Yasuo his coat to cover the dog. Yasuo tries not to cry.
Yasuo follows Mr. Yoshikawa into his office so the two can be alone. They sit together in silent grief for a while. Yasuo cries, and Mr. Yashikawa tells him that they can at least be glad that Hachiko, who had become frail in old age, is not suffering anymore. Mr. Yoshikawa shares his personal theory of the afterlife: that there is a train that takes “those who have experienced Enlightenment up to Heaven” (73). He says that Hachiko will soon disembark from the train to greet the Professor in heaven.
Chapter 10 Summary
The day after Hachiko dies, Yasuo goes to the train station and sits, watching passengers. People question him about where the dog is, and Yasuo tells them that he passed away. Many passengers who came to expect Hachiko’s presence at the station are shocked and upset by the news.
Yasuo comes up with the idea of erecting a statue of Hachiko on the platform. He brings this idea to Mr. Yoshikawa, who questions where they would get the money to commission a statue. A passerby overhears the conversation and offers to contribute a small amount of money. As more and more people hear about the idea, they too donate money to Mr. Yoshikawa. The news publishes more stories about Hachiko, and people from all around Japan are so touched by the story of such a strong and devoted dog that they send in money. Eventually, the story becomes so widespread that even people from abroad donate what they can.
Having collected enough funds, Mr. Yoshikawa commissions a sculptor. The artist comes to visit Shibuya Station and asks Yasuo all about Hachiko. Yasuo describes the dog as loyal, dignified, and kind, saying Hachiko never objected to the many people passing through Shibuya who wanted to pet his fur for good luck. The sculptor goes back to his studio and spends months locked inside. People try to visit to check on his progress, but the artist doesn’t let anyone inside.
A year passes. Eventually, the artist announces that the statue is finished, and Shibuya Station holds an unveiling ceremony. Trains are stopped for a few hours during the ceremony, and so many people come that they can barely fit in the station. Yasuo forces himself through the crowd “like a carp swimming upstream” (79). To begin the ceremony, a Shinto priest says a prayer, and then a colleague of Professor Ueno describes the Professor’s loving and generous character. The sculptor then explains that the reason he took so long crafting the statue is that he spent many long hours sitting in solitude—just as Hachiko did—to understand the dog.
Eventually, Yasuo addresses the audience, but he is emotional and struggles to collect himself. He spots a little boy in the crowd who is the same age Yasuo was when he met the Professor and Hachiko. The boy grins at Yasuo, which gives him the strength to continue. Yasuo and Mr. Yoshikawa then pull the sheet from the statue. Yasuo strokes the metal fur and, as though it were actually Hachiko, speaks the same words of praise that the Professor said to his dog every day.
Epilogue Summary
It is now New Year’s Day of 1939—four years after the unveiling ceremony. Yasuo is 21 years old, and he is a student at Tokyo Imperial University. He comes to Shibuya Station to bring a gift to Mr. Yoshikawa for the holiday. At the station, he sees a beautiful young woman standing near Hachiko’s statue. The statue has become a famous meeting point in Tokyo, and the woman appears to be waiting for someone. She looks at the clock a few times, seeming annoyed, and then starts to walk away. Yasuo calls after her and invites her to take a walk with him, bringing her into Mr. Yoshikawa’s office. The woman says her name is Miyuki, and Mr. Yoshikawa tells her what a great man Yasuo is. He adds that Yasuo “is about to be rewarded for a very kind thing he did many years ago” (87).
Yasuo and Miyuki spend the day together, and soon they enjoy one another’s company regularly. They eventually fall in love. After a year, Yasuo asks Miyuki to meet him at Hachiko’s statue on New Year’s Day. There, the two become engaged. Yasuo pledges to spend his life as devoted to Miyuki as Hachiko was to the Professor. Miyuki responds that she will remain as devoted to Yasuo as he was to Hachiko.
Chapter 9-Epilogue Analysis
Yasuo uses the same words to praise the statue of Hachiko that he heard the Professor use many years prior. This is an example of repetition, a device the author uses throughout the story to reinforce the theme of The Reciprocation of Loyalty and the associated motif of routine. Relatedly, it exemplifies the continuity of love, which transcends time and spans generations. The Professor set an example of how to treat Hachiko, which Yasuo follows after the Professor is gone. Indeed, the respect the community affords Hachiko and his legacy lasts even beyond Yasuo’s generation, proving that love and kindness can be passed down for many years.
The latter section of the story thus reinforces the theme of The Creation of Cultural Legacy. In these last few chapters, Hachiko’s story evolves from a personal tale of companionship to that of a cultural phenomenon. Shibuya Station, which used to be a setting that simply punctuated Hachiko and the Professor’s daily routine, becomes a national destination and an icon imbued with meaning after the unveiling of Hachiko’s statue. The sculptor’s meticulous process—a way of empathizing with Hachiko— underscores that Hachiko’s story genuinely resonated with and impacted people in profound ways. Moreover, the novel suggests that the lasting impression that Hachiko leaves reflects not only the dog’s nobility but also Japanese culture itself, which is particularly receptive to tales that emphasize traditional Japanese values of unconditional perseverance, honor, patience, and respect. Hachiko is highly venerated because he embodies the traits for which Japanese society has the highest regard.
Part of how Newman contextualizes Hachiko’s story culturally involves her reliance on symbols that have specific resonance in traditional Japanese society. For instance, the cherry blossoms that have just fallen when both Hachiko and the Professor die represent life’s transience. The simile comparing Yasuo to a “carp swimming upstream” employs another of the story’s key symbols, the carp, to illustrate that Yasuo has matured and has come to embody the values that Boys’ Day celebrates. Yasuo devoted himself to Hachiko’s well-being despite all the challenges that this entailed, and now—at the unveiling ceremony—he faces the difficulty of addressing a huge crowd despite his own grief. That Yasuo bears these troubles patiently and persists for the sake of his community underscores that he, like Hachiko, has become a model of perseverance.
The Epilogue shows just how impactful Hachiko’s story is, even years beyond his lifetime. Hachiko has become a symbol of social connection: People regard his statue as an emblem of friendship, and they use it as a meeting point in the busy Tokyo train station. In fact, it is through the statue that Yasuo ends up meeting his future wife, solidifying its status as a symbol of love and harkening back to Mr. Yoshikawa’s prophecy that Hachiko would somehow “reward” Yasuo for his dedication. In line with the story’s most central theme—that diligence and loyalty are always rewarded—Yasuo is repaid for his kindness to Hachiko with a mutually loving and faithful romance with Miyaki.
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