Hachiko Print, Black, 5/6

For quite some time I have been fascinated by the story of the famous Japanese dog named Hachiko.  Hachiko formed a very strong bond with his owner and friend Professor Ueno who taught at Tokyo Imperial University.  Hachiko used to walk to the nearby Shibuya train station to meet his friend as he finished his workday.  However, Professor Ueno tragically died at work in 1925.  Yet Hachiko kept up his ritual of walking almost every single day to the train station for 10 years - hoping to see his friend get off the train.  In the early years after the professor died, Hachiko was treated very badly by people near the station who thought he was a stray dog.  But this didn't dissuade him.  When the story got out about why this faithful dog went to the station each day, Hachiko began to be treated better and local vendors often gave him food and water.  Today there is a statue to Hachiko at the train station, celebrating the unbreakable bond between Professor Ueno and his loyal friend.

This print is a 5x3.5 inch limited edition, hand pressed linocut print.  It features his name that was cut into a 2nd block and printed in Japanese script.  The full edition is 20 prints (5 were purchased by people who saw the print early on my social media pages.)  The printing block was destroyed.