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Yaeko <I>Sakano</I> Ueno

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Yaeko Sakano Ueno

Birth
Japan
Death
30 Apr 1961 (aged 75–76)
Japan
Burial
Minato-ku, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan Add to Map
Plot
Area: 6 - Number: 12
Memorial ID
View Source
Widow of Prof. Ueno, beloved master of Hachiko, the world-famous, forever loyal, Akita dog.

Yaeko Sakano (坂野 八重子, Sakano Yaeko), more often referred as Yaeko Ueno, was a common law wife to Hidesaburō Ueno for about 10 years until his death in 1925. Hachikō was reported to have shown great happiness and affection towards her whenever she came to visit him. One would reasonably ask, "Why didn't Ueno's wife keep Hachikō after the Professor died?"

Ueno and Yaeko, were not legally married. In fact, he was betrothed to a woman from a prominent family, but he fell in love with Yaeko. His family disapproved of their union, so Ueno and Yaeko went away to live together. She was known as "Mrs. Ueno."
When Ueno died, she had no legal rights to the house, so she was forced to leave her home and move in with a friend. So practically speaking, it was difficult for her to keep a large dog like Hachikō during these transitions, which is why she sent him to live with a relative who lived in Asakusa, in the eastern part of Tokyo.

Yaeko died on 30 April 1961 at the age of 76 and despite her request to her family members to be buried with her late partner, she was buried at a temple in Taitō, distant from Ueno's grave. In 2013, her burial record was found by Sho Shiozawa, a professor of the University of Tokyo, who was also the president of the Japanese Society of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Engineering, which manages Ueno's grave at Aoyama Cemetery.

On November 10, 2013, which marked the 90th anniversary of the Birth of Hachikō, Sho Shiozawa and Keita Matsui, a curator of the Shibuya Folk and Literary Shrine Memorial Museum, recognized that Yaeko's wishes to be buried together with Ueno and Hachikō should be respected. Shiozawa was also one of the organizers for the casting of the bronze statue of Hachikō and Ueno which was later unveiled on the grounds of the University of Tokyo on the 80th anniversary of Hachikō's death on March 9, 2015. Although the effort to have Yaeko's ashes interred with her husband and Hachikō was supported by both the Ueno and Sakano families, it took two years to achieve the goal due to regulations and bureaucracy.

On 19 May 2016, during a ceremony at the Aoyama Cemetery attended by members of the Ueno and Sakano families, some of the ashes of Yaeko Sakano were buried with Ueno and Hachikō. Her name and the date of her death were inscribed on the side of Ueno's tombstone, thus reuniting Hachikō with his human family.

For further reading: https://vickiwongandhachi.com/the-real-story-of-hachiko-the-worlds-most-loyal-dog/
Widow of Prof. Ueno, beloved master of Hachiko, the world-famous, forever loyal, Akita dog.

Yaeko Sakano (坂野 八重子, Sakano Yaeko), more often referred as Yaeko Ueno, was a common law wife to Hidesaburō Ueno for about 10 years until his death in 1925. Hachikō was reported to have shown great happiness and affection towards her whenever she came to visit him. One would reasonably ask, "Why didn't Ueno's wife keep Hachikō after the Professor died?"

Ueno and Yaeko, were not legally married. In fact, he was betrothed to a woman from a prominent family, but he fell in love with Yaeko. His family disapproved of their union, so Ueno and Yaeko went away to live together. She was known as "Mrs. Ueno."
When Ueno died, she had no legal rights to the house, so she was forced to leave her home and move in with a friend. So practically speaking, it was difficult for her to keep a large dog like Hachikō during these transitions, which is why she sent him to live with a relative who lived in Asakusa, in the eastern part of Tokyo.

Yaeko died on 30 April 1961 at the age of 76 and despite her request to her family members to be buried with her late partner, she was buried at a temple in Taitō, distant from Ueno's grave. In 2013, her burial record was found by Sho Shiozawa, a professor of the University of Tokyo, who was also the president of the Japanese Society of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Engineering, which manages Ueno's grave at Aoyama Cemetery.

On November 10, 2013, which marked the 90th anniversary of the Birth of Hachikō, Sho Shiozawa and Keita Matsui, a curator of the Shibuya Folk and Literary Shrine Memorial Museum, recognized that Yaeko's wishes to be buried together with Ueno and Hachikō should be respected. Shiozawa was also one of the organizers for the casting of the bronze statue of Hachikō and Ueno which was later unveiled on the grounds of the University of Tokyo on the 80th anniversary of Hachikō's death on March 9, 2015. Although the effort to have Yaeko's ashes interred with her husband and Hachikō was supported by both the Ueno and Sakano families, it took two years to achieve the goal due to regulations and bureaucracy.

On 19 May 2016, during a ceremony at the Aoyama Cemetery attended by members of the Ueno and Sakano families, some of the ashes of Yaeko Sakano were buried with Ueno and Hachikō. Her name and the date of her death were inscribed on the side of Ueno's tombstone, thus reuniting Hachikō with his human family.

For further reading: https://vickiwongandhachi.com/the-real-story-of-hachiko-the-worlds-most-loyal-dog/

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