- Kato Hidetoshi's Data Base -
A Study of "Waiting Behavior"
Publication Date:199203
Book title: MEDIA, CULTURE, AND EDUCATION IN JAPAN [A COLLECTION OF PAPERS]
Publisher : National Institute of Multimedia Education
Seen from for above, the waves of pedestrian traffic around Shibuya station in Tokyo surge radially out in every direction. Out of exits, from across streets, and into entrances, movement is constant and rapid. Only in one place does this flow abate: people gather in the popular and crowded meeting point, Hachiko Square. However, seen from close up, this park-like open-space pulses with activity and people-people who come to wait, to rest, to conduct business, to meet a date, to sightsee, to demonstrate, or just to kill time. On an average day a theatrical collection of people assembles to perform the ongoing drama of contemporary urban life representing the variety and scope of Tokyo's street life. For example, a group of school girls in their uniforms stands chattering;two handbill-passers stuff handbills into the hands of the hurrying passersby;middle-aged businessmen bow deeply and exchange calling cards;dodging people, running the last few steps, a young girl greets her waiting friend;sprawled across a bench, a teenage couple on a date make themselves comfortable;and through the crowds weaves a staggering drunk.
But in this shifting drama there is only one permanent actor-a statue, honoring the legendary dog, Hachiko. This statue is in fact main character of the drama, for the meeting point grew up around the statue. Therefore, the history of the meeting point is first and foremost the story of Hachiko himself.
According to the now legendary tale, Hachiko was brought as a puppy from Akita Prefecture to the household of Professor Eisaburo Ueno in Tokyo in 1924. At first Hachiko was lonely in his new surroundings. But Professor Ueno treated him as if he were his own child: when Hachiko cried in the middle of the night, Professor Ueno got up and brought him into his own bed to comfort him. Accordingly Hachiko soon grew to be a good dog, settling fights and protecting weaker dogs from bullying. And every morning, Hachiko accompanied Professor Ueno on his way to work as far as Shibuya Station;every evening Hachiko returned to the station to meet him. But one day at work, Professor Ueno suddenly passed away. Not able to comprehend his master's failure to return to the station, day after day year after year, through rain and snow, for his master who never returned, Hachiko waited. According to The Story of Hachiko, a booklet written by the station master of Shibuya Station at the time, Chuichi Yoshikawa, "Around May of 1925, a large, white, robust dog appeared out of nowhere about 4:00 or 5:00 every day around the entrance of Shibuya Station(usually the Aoyama entrance) and gazed at the people comming down the steps from the platform like he was waiting for someone.
'Oh, there's a big dog. Its fearful.'
'Its nothing to be afraid of. Its the one that's here every day.'
'What's it doing every day?'
'I don't know. Its probably playing,' said the children who began to notice him.
Because it was a daily occurance adults also thought it a bit strange. Its a fine dog, but what on earth is it doing, they wondered. But people were busy They marveled at Hachiko at first, but gradually became used to seeing the dog and stopped noticing him. Many days passed. Three years, five years passed.
I didn't notice him either, but gradually we all realized that the dog was the pet dog of the deceased Professor Ueno and was waiting everyday for his master who left one morning and never returned" Thus, his fame spread throughout the country and to distant lands. Through the efforts and contribution of the people of Japan and foreign countries alike a statue honoring his loyalty was erected so that later generations would remember his greatness...or so the legend says.
This abbreviated tale of "faithful Hachiko" taken from a children's book1 has become what can be called "modern urban folklore. "The term folklore is commonly associated with rural, orally preserved traditions or beliefs. Modern urban folklore is of course a modern city phenomenon, and one which enjoys the benefits of modern mass media coverage to reach a far greater number of people in less time than possible before the Meiji Period. However, the essence of folklore lies in its anonymous beginnings and its incorporation of society's values or beliefs. The romanticized story of Hachiko above fulfills both conditions. It is a story with no identifiable author in which Hachiko symbolizes the value of loyalty which was important in the official values of prewar Japan.
Four factors created the legend of Hachiko-the legend's precedents in earlier folklore, Hachiko's factual existence, his historically opportune presence. and a process of the "fictionalization" of fact to conform to social values that could be called "mythmaking."The presence of dogs in earlier moralizing folktales predisposed people to accept the legend of Hachiko. The existence of a real dog at the right time was necessary. Hachiko began to appear at Shibuya in the 1920s. He was unnoticed and even abused at first, but through the years he endeared himself to a small number of shopkeepers and station employees who fed him, cared for him in sickness, and provided him with places to sleep. The well-timed existence of a group of supporters within the local community and society's willingness to accept moral models of faithfulness nurtured the legend of Hachiko's faithfulness. From these facts the process of mythmaking took over. In the anonyminty of unrecorded local history people's projections or wishful transformed Hachiko's appearance at the station to fit society's beliefs or values. In the context of the importance of loyalty in official prewar values, Hachiko's presence at the station was labled a faithful vigil by the press. The warm public reception which greeted the story after its initial publication in the Tokyo edition of the Asahi Newspaper in the early 1930s, attests to the story's adaptation to and concurrance with public sentiment. By 1933, Hachiko, the dog who did not forget his obligation to his master, was nationally famous. Before his death in 1935, the statue was built to his already legendary figure. Although the statue was removed and melted down during Would War II doe to the scarcity of copper, the legend survived to see the statue rebuilt in 1948. The overwhelming official importance of loyalty in the value system waned with the end of the war, but Hachiko's importance as a symbol of waiting persists. From the symbol of the faithful, waiting figure of the dog and necessity, Hachiko Meeting Point was born.
The moral theme of the folkloric story of Hachiko began in traditional Japanese folk tales. The precedent of dogs associated with virtue in folklore prepared the way for the acceptance of Hachiko as a moral example of faithfulness. The same infusion of morality into the behavior of dogs occurs in Nanso Satomi Hakkenden, a tale of the Edo Period, and Momotaro and Hanasakajiisan, two folk tales.
The Hakkenden begins in the mythical kingdom of a lord, Satomi Yoshizane, whose daughter, Fusuhime is given eight virtues: benevolence,justice, courtesy, wisdom, sincerity, loyalty, filial piety, and obedience by a hermit of Destiny. But her father's fief becomes ensnared in a war with a neighboring fief. Consequently, the lord promises his daugher in marriage to one of his favorite retainers, a dog named Yatsufusa, if Yatsufusa can win the war by slaying the general of the rival army. In the ensuing battle Yatsufusa manages to cut off the rival general's head;the king grants him his daughter. Yatsufusa takes the unwilling Fusuhime to a place in the mountains, where eventually as proof of her purity, she commits suicide. But as she does so, out of her stomach comes a vaporous aether which becomes the seed of eight men, each of which embodies one of the eight virtues she was endowed with and the strength or vitality of Yatsufusa. Yatsufusa, himself disappears from the story, and the eight men scatter to all corners of the country. But when the fief of the lord again becomes involved in war, a retainer of the lord goes on a search for the eight men whose strength and virtue can ensure victory. Through a long process, he finds all of them and brings them back to do battle for the fief. They enter battle and win a glorious victory.
Throughout this lengthy tale the essence of Yatsufusa, the dog, is associated with virtue and its triumph. He himself appears only in the first part of the story as the lord's favorite, and by implication loyal and brave retainer. But spiritually he continues to live on in the eight men whose virtue and strength bring victory to the kingdom. This continuation of Yatsufusa in the eight virtuous men is concretely symbolized by beginning each of their names with the Japanese character for dog.
Dogs appear in two other major Japanese folk tales, Hanasakajiisan and Momotaro. In both they are supporting characters associated with virtue which triumphs over vice. The story of Momotaro is the story of the boy, Momotaro, who is born from an enormous peach found by an elderly couple. Momotaro grows up to be strong and brave. One day he announces that he is going to Devil's Island to subjugate the devils who dwell there.On his way he encounters a dog who asks for a piece of the dumplings for his long journey. If the dog will accompany him, he will certainly give him some of the dumplings he says. So the dog becomes his first retainer and in the same way, a monkey and a pheasant also become retainers. When they reach the island the animals all fight loyally until the devils surrender in exchange for a promise to spare their lives. Momotaro and his faithful retainers return in triumph with the treasure to the old couple.
In the story of Hanasakajiisan, Pochi, the dog of an honest elderly couple is the source of the couple's wealth and recognition by a lord. Pochi indicates to the couple where gold pieces are buried in the back yard, so when the greedy neighbors hear of the story they borrow Pochi. However, Pochi finds only stones and roof tiles infuriating the neighbor who kills him. But even Pochi's remains transformed into a tree, converted into a handmill, and burned to ashes, generate wealth for the honest couple and nothing for the greedy couple. At last the ashes of the tree Pochi became, cause a flowerless cherry tree to blossom just as the lord's carriage is going past, pleasing him. But when the greedy couple tries the same thing the ashes merely land in the eves of the lord, angering him.
In both the stories Momotaro and Hanasakajiisan, the image of the dog is associated with virtue in classic conflicts between "good" and "evil." In Momotaro, the dog is a secondary character who joins Momotaro, the symbol of "good," in the battle against the devils. In Hanasakajiisan, Pochi is the bestower of rewards--wealth and honor--to the honest, and punishment--poverty and dishonor--to the greedy. He is the judge and determiner of man's rewards for virtue or punishment for lack of virtue.
To a modern reader, it is inconceivable that Momotaro's retainer be a fox or that Pochi be a badger, for the stereotyped image of the animal coincides with its role in the story. In folklore and children's stories with a moral, the conflict between "good" and "evil" is usually polarized in two sets of characters, one side representing "good," the other "evil." The use of animals creates or follows a stereotyped association of a particular animal with either good or evil. In Japan, as in many countries, the dog most decisively falls on the side of good in such stories. In Japanese folktales the fox is associated with trickery and has a negative image. The badger, cat, and monkey are all ambiguous creatures whose images are not clearly identified in the reader's mind with either good or evil, but which appear as both in folklore. But the dog is a strong symbol of "good" which through image association, underscores the division between good and evil in the story.
Hachiko, the symbol of the faithfully waiting dog, continues the tradition of the stereotyped image of these stories. Doubtless, many cats have spent years near Shibuya Station yet no legends of faithful cats exist because the cat is not particularly associated with such positive qualities. The image of the dog, however, has a long history of popular association with virtuous qualities in the folktales of Momotaro, Hanasakajiisan and Satomi Hakkenden. These tales can be said to have made the creation of the story of Hachiko possible because the stereotypes they created established an image that the story of Hachiko only continues.
Despite the story's background in folklore and subsequent fictionalization, the presence of a real dog at the station was essential for its spectacular growth and acceptance as modern folklore. There is no distant past to cloud whether there really was not a real dog, because the story of Hachiko is current history: it is within the memory of most Japanese over 45. Unlike traditional folklore, modern folklore is a creation of the mass media which has the capacity to create folk heroes almost overnight and keep written records of their existence. When folklore can be created in such a short time, the tangible existence of a suitable object, no matter how fictionalized, lends the credence to the story it needs.
Hachiko was born in January, 1924 in Akita Prefecture. Soon afterwards, he came to the home of Dr. Eisaburo Ueno, an agronomist well-known in his field, and a lover of dogs. Hachiko was his seventh or eighth dog (depending on the source) and second "Akita breed" Japanese dog. But only a little over a year later, Dr. Ueno died in May 1925. According to Kikusaburo Kobayashi, the Ueno's gardener and Hachiko's final owner, Ueno's widow first gave Hachiko to relatives in Asakusa, but each time he was taken there he always returned to Shibuya. The doctor's widow attempted to find another home for him with other relatives in Setagaya-ward, farmland at the time. But being a city dog, Hachiko had never learned the etiquette of country dogs: leaving the paths wandering into rice paddies, he trampled crops arousing the wrath of neighboring farmers. As a last resort, Kobayashi agreed to take him in.
For the rest of his life Hachiko officially lived with the Kobayashis and frequently commuted to the area around Shibuya Station. When in explaining why Hachiko went to the station fact succumbs to the force of the human imagination. Whether Hachiko really went to the station to wait for his master or to scavenge for food is a matter of speculation, but perhaps it may be said that it was a combination of both. Accordingly, the presence of Hachiko at Shibuya Station after his master's death spawned the story of his faithful vigil. Likewise, the availability of food produced the story of Hachiko, the stray dog scavenging for food.
The most popular story is the tale of Hachiko's faithfulness related earlier. Second, is the interpretation that Hachiko was a stray dog who came to scavenge for food and who was subsequently used by the stationmaster and merchants to publicize Shibuya. That Hachiko was a stray and that people conspired to consciously create a fictional story is improbable and ignores reliable witnesses. However, one of the reasons that Hachiko frequented the station was certainly the availability of food. For if Hachiko originally did go to the station in hopes of meeting his master, the environment compelled him to stay.
Both the station environment and society as a whole were responsible for the creation of the story of Hachiko. In Shibuya, a small nucleus of dog-lovers food and companionship and also played the role of publicity agents to the community. Without them and in a faster-paced era Hachiko probably would have been doomed to oblivion. Likewise, the ideal of loyalty in Japanese society in the early 1930s neatly coincided with the timely presence of the symbol-to-be, Hachiko.
First, the environment around the station was favorable to Hachiko and to the development of his story. Shibuya in the 1920s or 1930s was a growing, but still small suburban community of numerous small family-owned shops and close neighborhoods. At the station itself, the lack of crowds of today's size permitted Hachiko the freedom to sit in front of the entrance as he often did. Shibuya today is a large, busy entertainment, shopping and transportation center that probably would not stop to pay homage to a dog. But most importantly, large department stores which close their doors to dogs have replaced the small shopkeepers who befriended Hachiko. It was these dog-lovers who were at least part of the reason Hachiko came to Shibuya and who were the promoters of his story. As one long-time resident of Shibuya suggested, Hachiko probably came to the station because he wanted to be with people-in the middle of the flow of pedestrian traffic or with anyone of a number of dog-lovers who ran shops close to the station. According to a panel of Shibuya residents of the time, the shopkeepers around the station were a cradle of affection in a world otherwise hostile to Hachiko. According to these residents of Shibuya, the number of people who sympathized with him and doted on him was small. Hachiko often slept on a corner of the sidewalk forcing most people to step over him, and often unkind people kicked him to make him move out of the way. Only people who knew him patted him. But the people who knew him provided him with homes away from home, complete with meals and affection.
Two shop owners in particular doted on him. Hachiko had free entry into their homes. When their front doors were shut, Hachiko would come in from the back and go up to the second floor where the owners were sleeping, and crawl into their beds. When his skin broke out, they would buy and apply medication to the sore spots. He was fed and loved by these people who treated him as if he were their dog. Through these "patrons" of Hachiko, his story spread through the small community of Shibuya. Here, Hachiko's faithfulness found a sympathetic audience among dog-lovers. Although no evidence exists it is perhaps safe to say that here, in the small group of people close to Hachiko, the story was created or discovered. In a conversation one day someone put together Hachiko's appearance at the station and the fact of his master's death. The story of Hachiko, the dog who never forgot his obligation to his master, was born.
Second, society as a whole at this time was receptive to the popular romanticized story of Hachiko's faithful vigil. The image of a faithful waiting dog formed a perfect symbol of loyalty in a society that prized loyalty. Throughout the Edo Period(1603-1868)loyalty to one's feudal master and parents was a quality encouraged by the feudal government to reinforce its own position and stabilize society. As Japan psychologically prepared for war in the early 1930s, the government resurrected the ideal of loyalty to the state symbolized by the Emperor in the official system of values. Beginning at this time elementary school moral education text books began to feature moral anecdotes extolling the virtue of loyalty. (The Ministry of Education, in fact, published the story of Hachiko's loyalty as one of such moral anecdotes the year that he died.)
The presence of the value of loyalty in a governmentally controlled educational system is not synonymous with its acceptance into the popular value system. Yet, that the building of a statue to "faithful Hachiko" was in every sense a popular movement suggests the acceptance of the value of loyalty, not as an extention of government policy but as a heartfelt expression of admiration for the legendary faithfulness of Hachiko. The importance of loyalty in the state's educational system amplified people's natural admiration for Hachiko's supposed faithfulness. Based on universal feeling, in the ideal community around the station and in a society receptive to moralizing stories, a faithful dog became a symbol of loyalty to a nation.
The development of Hachiko as modern urban folklore and as a statue occured through a process which can be termed "myth-making"(the fictionalization of fact). Whether Hachiko was really waiting for his master or not is immaterial to the development of folklore. From the presence of the dog, men's imaginations created a symbol appropriate to the times aided by the propensity of cities to create symbols and by the mass media.
The roots of legends and myth-making lie in man's need or desire to create symbols of his values or beliefs. Applying the label of "faithful" to Hachiko's behavior was to attribute human characteristics or motivations to an animal, a fallible practice in biological research, but acceptable in the world of myth and folklore. Just when and where this occured is not certain for the beginning of the legend is anonymous. But it is likely that someone in the circle of dog-lovers near the station ascribed Hachiko's appearance at the station to faithfulness to his master upon hearing the story of Ueno's death. The anonymous, probably unintended fictionalization of an event to coincide with a society's values is the basis of myth-making.
As elaborated in a previous paper, the tendency of cities, especially modern cities, to specialize in the production and consumption of symbols contributed to the process of "myth-making."An international comparative study of ancient and modern cities substantiates the importance of symbolic interaction in traditional cities. Cities started as communion with the gods and continued as interpersonal human communication mediated by the sacred. It may be safe to say that at any stage of city development, to live in a city was and is to be exposed to an extremely complicated symbolic environment, and that city people have been characterized by their readiness and willingness to participate in symbolic interaction rather than to deal with substantive environments. The nature of the symbols they have worked with has changed from society to society and with time from sacred to quasi-sacred to secular. But city life remains filled with symbols.2
The development of modern mass communication industries has made cities even more symbolic. In the growth of the legend of Hachiko, first newspapers and later textbooks for moral education published by the Ministry of Education, played an essential role: they publicized the current version of the legend of Hachiko's devotion to his master. This publicity furthered the development of the legend by spreading it throughout the entire country in an extremely short period of time as well as further romanticizing it.
The newspapers transformed Hachiko from a dog known only to a few dog-lovers living near Shibuya Station into a nationally famous legend. This was possible due to the existence of an extensive centralized communications network. In the process of the social change of the Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government was aware of the vital role of the nationwide dissemination of information. Accordingly, the government encouraged newspapers so that before 1900, newspapers penetrated every corner of the Japanese islands. The development of radio broadcasting followed a similar pattern of government support. Soon after its inception the government itself consolidated the companies into one, which also broadcast nationally. Thus when an article by a member of the Japan Dog Protection Society was published in the Tokyo edition of the Asahi newspaper in the early 1930s, the legend of Hachiko was transformed from local to national folklore almost overnight. This article focused on Hachiko as a faithful, aging dog who waited through rain and snow for his master's return for seven years. By choosing the sentimental explanation for Hachiko's presence at the station, it established the image of Hachiko as a faithful, waiting dog. Soon after the publication of this article, a poem inspired by the article by Teijiro Yamamoto, former Minister of Agriculture, was printed. These two articles established Hachiko on his way to national prominence. Tokyo newspapers gave the most complete coverage to Hachiko, but his story appeared nationally and even internationally. Moved by stories in the newspapers, adults as well as children wrote letters, sent donations of money, and dedicated poetry or songs to Hachiko. "Dear Mr. Stationmaster," wrote one elementary school boy, "I am a second grader in elementary school in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture. Recently, my mother told me the story of Hachiko and I was very impressed. This money is pocket money I sometimes receive from my parents. Please use it to buy something Hachiko would like and feed him."3 Publicity also stimulated the donations which built the statue. "We are employees in a company," wrote a group of men, "but this is the first time we have ever heard of a dog which cherished its master. We are human, but if even dogs are as faithful as Hachiko, we as humans, should not forget our obligations. Thus we donate this money to the fund for the construction of a statue of Hachiko."4 Poetry further romanticized and established the story of Hachiko's faithfulness. "Even now, what you(Hachiko) have taught me, I only protect,"5 wrote a budding poet in haiku form.
In addition to newspaper coverage the legend of faithful Hachiko was included in moral education textbooks published by the Ministry of Education and distributed nationwide. Again the story as it appeared in textbooks focused on Hachiko's faithfulness exhorting children to follow his example. It is probably safe to say that almost every Japanese elementary school student between 1935 and 1945 road the tale of Hachiko, the dog who did not forget his obligation to his master, in school.
The publicity the mass media and textbooks gave Hachiko stimulated popular admiration for his loyalty. Consequently people contributed the money necessary to build the statue. the statue also preserves the original myth with some modifications. The purpose for building the statue and for rebuilding it after the war was the same: to pass on to future generations the ideal of faithfulness embodied by Hachiko. In fact, new extensions of the theme of loyalty are even created. According to an article about the reconstruction of the statue in the Yomiuri in August 1948, a new legend had sprung from Hachiko's faithfulness and the presence of the statue. Superstitious boys and girls meeting for dates chose the statue dubbed "Love-Knot Hachiko"in order to secure the "divinegrace" of Hachiko to insure that their love would not change through their lives. This directly continues the idea of imperishable faithfulness.
Although this charming superstition has seemingly died out, the statue has continued to be a symbol of waiting. As much as it is an appropriate symbol of waiting, the statue meets a very practical need for easy-to-locate, well-known pleasant places to meet in major downtown areas of Tokyo. Each of Tokyo's major districts can claim at least one major well-known meeting point;in front of Kinokuniya Bookstore in Shinjuku, the Sony Building in the Ginza, and under the silver bell in Tokyo Station. However, none of them have any symbolic relationship to waiting. They are merely well-known and easily found places. With the creation of a small park-like square surrounding the statue of Hachiko in 1957, the number of people using it has swollen to make it the most populated meeting point in the city. Here the thousands of people who come to wait in front of Hachiko every day continue the act of waiting he began.
The image of the faithful waiting dog, Hachiko, made an extraordinary symbolic transformation, and Hachiko Square in front of Shibuya Station is still one of the most popular waiting spots in Tokyo. Indeed, tens of thousands of people come to this square to wait for each other, and it may be safe to say that the square itself was designed in order to meet the public demand as well as to honor the legendary dog. As described in the preceding chapter, Hachiko Square is an incredible piece of modern urban folklore in itself. In this part of the study the actual uses of Hachiko Square(hereafter abbreviated as H. S.) will be analyzed based on time-lapse 8mm movie film.
A movie camera was set at the second-floor corridor of Shibuya Station overlooking H. S., on July 14, 1977 from 6:09 a.m. to 7:20 p.m., using a time-lapse device to take one frame every two seconds. Due to the physical location of the camera, a small corner portion of H.S. could not be recorded, but at least, 80% of the activities which took place in the area were covered by the device.
In order to determine where and at what times people gather, the editing screen was divided into 32 sections to form a grid. An identical grid was drawn, xeroxed, and the people in the meeting point were counted by marking their position in the corresponding square every one minute from 6:09 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
During the process of counting and recording the number of people on the grids, care was taken to adjust the position of the area visible on the screen to the same point each time so that a certain area would always be recorded in the same numbered square (because of complicated spotting, we are unable to introduce visual illustration here). Since the camera looked down obliquely on H. S., the size of each square in the grid does not correspond with the actual geometrical size of the area thus divided, but it is estimated that each square is approximately between 15m2 to 25m2, and the total area covered by the camera is roughly 600m2. This is the space where people interact literally twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year and where they have done so without interval in the past several decades. For technical reasons, this research had to limit its time study from dawn to sunset, but in reality, several people(i.e. bums, early-bird joggers, etc.) were seen at 5:00 a.m., and hundreds of people, mostly those who were on their way home from theaters, restaurants, and bars, were still around at 2:00 a.m. In a word, H. S. is a fascinating time space complex full of activities in the center of Tokyo.
Waiting at H. S. means many things for many people. A group of young people may wait for each other at H. S. in order to catch a train which brings them together for a picnic in suburban parks and forests. A man waits for his girl friend here(or vice versa) so that they can go to a theater or coffee shop together. A business man may wait for his partner or customer at H. S. and then take him for a drink. Middle-aged housewives wait for their friends to go to department stores nearby together for shopping. A small storekeeper may wait for a messenger to receive a small shipment of merchandise. There are certainly a number of men and women waiting with the boy-meets-girl fantasy. Different motivations and different results. This is the place where young lovers say "hello" to each other at 5:00 p.m. and say good night at 9:00 p.m. This is the place where the drama begins and the drama ends. Happy stories and sad stories. Indeed, at H. S., a careful observer can see all facts of contemporary urban life. It is not an exaggeration to say that H. S. is a theater where an urban documentary drama, produced and acted by people, is performed.
In spite of the fact that some actors and actresses are on the stage even at 3:00 a.m., the curtain opened at 6:00 a.m. The first trains from suburban communities as well as the JNR(Japan National Railway) loop train (Yamanote Line), arrived at Shibuya around 5:30 a.m. The number of passengers were very few, but some of them had started waiting at H.S. The first person in this particular day's drama was a man who had been sleeping on a bench of H.S., apparently since midnight. The man continued to sleep, despite the increasing noise around him, until 9:30 a.m., then sat on the same bench for thirty minutes and left the spot exactly at 10:00 a.m. He seemed to be one of the "regulars" on H.S. He was a bum in his fifties, with poor clothes, and apparently using a H.S. bench as his bed, thanks to the warm air of July.
People who came out of trains began their waiting as early as 6:00 a.m., but their number was very small. With the morning rush hour, i.e. 7:00 to 9:00 a.m., the number of people jumped rapidly and continued to climb until 10:00 a.m. Young people, old people, men, and women, with apparently diverse socio-economic backgrounds came into the scene, and after successfully waiting they left the stage with the parties they had waited for. Like any summer day in Tokyo, it was very hot and humid, and naturally people tended to wait for each other in the shade, but to secure good visibility to identify each other, quite a few people did not hesitate to wait under the direct sun.
Between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m., the number of people decreased slightly but swelled again between 11:00 and 12:00 and grew until sometime between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. Probably, this small peak consisted of a number of luncheon meetings. Between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m., there was a drop. But from 3:00 p.m. on, there was a steady increase, peaking around 6:00 or 6:30 p.m., which then began to drop off again.
| Time | Number of People |
| 6:09-6:59 | 349 |
| 7:00-7:59 | 1,139 |
| 8:00-8:59 | 1,539 |
| 9:00-9:59 | 1,654 |
| 10:00-10:59 | 1,548 |
| 11:00-11:59 | 2,272 |
| 12:00-12:59 | 2,628 |
| 1:00-1:59 | 2,839 |
| 2:00-2:59 | 2,362 |
| 3:00-3:59 | 2,626 |
| 4:00-4:59 | 4,197 |
| 5:00-5:59 | 6,345 |
| (5:00-5:29) | (3,111) |
| (5:30-5:59) | (3,234) |
| 6:00-7:00 | 9,090 |
| (6:00-6:29) | (5,137) |
| (6:30-7:00) | (3,953) |
The peak in the evening was obviously the product of after-work meetings. Young men who had graduated from the same high school and were working in different firms might have made an appointment at H.S. at 7:00 p.m. in order to renew their friendships at a bar, or a series of barhoppings. A man might be waiting for his girl friend who worked for a department store. A group of students would meet here so that they could discuss their summer vacation plans. A happy housewife might wait for her husband who would take her for dinner at a restau-rant. The atmosphere of H.S. was full of amenity-the good smell of food from nearby restaurants, the neon-sign advertisements on top of buildings, the noise from trains, automobiles, and loudspeakers. And hundreds of people were coming to and from H.S. for pleasure and relaxation. Most people were successful in meeting, but still there were some who could not find their partners. This was the drama of the day around H.S., and a similar pattern repeated itself everyday and every night.
There seemed to be an uneven spacial spread of people, and as the following three diagrams show, there were shifts in concentration of the crowd by the time of the day. In the morning(6:00-11:00) the most crowded part was a circle bench between the statue and station entrance(Diagram 1), and from late morning to the afternoon(11:15-3:59) people spread into the center of the square and covered the area around the statue(Diagram 2). During this time, the edge of the fountain was also partially occupied by those who used this square. The spread continued toward the evening(4:00-7:00), and by this time, the heaviest crowd was found around the fountain(Diagram 3). The most popular and the most densely populated area during the daytime(the circle bench) was less crowded in the evening. Possible reasons for the series of changes will be discussed later, but the diagrams themselves are eloquent in demonstrating the behavior of the crowd of the day.
As mentioned at the outset, time-lapse movie film was taken and analyzed. In the analysis, the whole area was studied by dividing it in to 32 smaller areas. A careful analysis was made of the movements of the people from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and the following charts indicate the number of people found in each sub-area.
The most crowded squares from 11:15 a.m. to 3:59 p.m. were 16, 13, and 14 followed by 15, 12, and 10, respectively. Square 16 is half of the area around the bench nearest to the JNR Station entrance. Square 13 is the area in the middle of the benches in area 2(Map I, facing page). Square 14 is the area in front of and around the statue itself. Square 15 is the equivalent of the other side of the bench nearest the JNR Station entrance. Square 12 is the part of the railing around the fountain in front of Hachiko and between the fountain and area 2. Square 10 is an area behind the fountain extending to the lights near the street.
The least populated places from 11:15 a.m. to 3:59 p.m. were squares 25, 24, and 21, respectively. Squares 25 and 24 are outside the meeting point, but square 21 is an area right between bench 8 and area 4 around Hachiko, right in the middle of the area near no landmarks. The next least crowded squares are, respectively, 26, 28, and 23. Square 26 is outside the meeting point. Square 28 is the space between bench 8 and 9 including bench 8. Square 23 is the far back corner away from the JNR station entrance or area 4.
The most crowded areas from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. were squares 13, 16, 14, followed by 10, 15, and 11, respectively. This shows considerable change from the afternoon data. Square 13, the area in front of the benches in area 2 and in front of the statue near the railing around the fountain, is the most crowded rather than the bench closest to the JNR Station entrance, Square 16. This indicates a move of more people to the center in front of Hachiko. Moreover, the relative numerical difference between the first and second most crowded places in the evening data is higher than the relative difference between the first and second most populated places in the afternoon data. Likewise, square 10 near the lights and the street has become more popular than square 15, a corner close to the station. Square 11 ranked 6th at this time while it only ranked 12th during mid-day, showing a movement toward this far outside area near the end of the benches in area 2. However, square 9, an area by the pollution register, showed a drop from place 7 to place 12. From the distribution of people in the morning and afternoon, the evening data show a shift from the bench near the entrance (area 1) and from the benches on the JNR station side of the New Tamagawa Line entrance to the center in front of the statue and the middle of area 2, but a shift from Areas 8-10 to the back of the subway entrance side of the area.
The reason for the shift of concentration may be explained from various angles. In the first place, there could be a problem of visibility. Since H.S. is located in front of one of the busiest railway stations in Tokyo, where JNR's loop train as well as two major suburban trains are connected, most of the people who used H.S. as their meeting place came by train. It is natural, therefore, that a "waiter" tended to look for his or her "partner" at the exit of the train station. The closest areas to the exit (i.e., areas 1 and 2) were crowded by those who were watching the people coming out of the station carefully. The clear visibility of the station exit probably made these areas hightly populated. Especially, at the time when more people were waiting for punctual appointments, it was natural for them to stand in front of the exit so that they could catch their partners at first sight.
A second reason for uneven spread of "waiters" might be due to the spacial ambiguity of H.S. As a matter of fact, H.S. is an area where hundreds of people gather and an individual would find it extremely difficult to identify a particular person in the crowd. Therefore, to say someone "I'll wait for you at H.S.," was too confusing and might lead to an appointment which was unsuccessful. One had to make his or her waiting spot more precise and identifiable. For example, one might say "Let's meet under the willow tree in front of the subway exit," so that time-space complex of waiting behavior would be less ambiguous. In this connection, the areas where there were distinct "landmarks," such as plants, benches, or phone boothes, were used more often than the areas which lacked peculiar characteristics. The most distinct landmark, of course, was the statue of Hachiko itself, and historically speaking, in the old days, people used to wait for each other literally in front of the statue. However, as the place became more popular and the expansion of the square was complete, the statu could not be the only spot for waiting. It is true that many people still use the statue as their landmark for waiting, but connoiseurs, or "regulars" would rather avoid the crowd and designate their waiting spot as other than the statue itself. The large concentration in squares 16, 13, 14, and 10 can be interpreted as the product of the existence of distinct landmarks in these areas.
Thirdly, there was the obvious climatic reason. In the morning, when the air was still cool, people did not hesitate to stand anywhere in H.S., but during midday, it was natural for them to prefer shade rather than standing under the sun. The pattern of concentration may change in cooler seasons of the year.
Among other landmarks, there were several benches at H.S., and quite a few people used these benches. Especially those who just taking a rest, or waiting for their partners for a longer period of time would sit on benches rather than standing. Chart III shows samples of the used of benches for part of the day. During the most crowded time (for example 5:00 p.m.,) there were 10 people sitting on bench 8 and 11 on bench 10. On the average, people sat on a bench for 15 minutes but there were some who continued to sit for more than two hours while there was another extreme group who used benches only for one minute. Interestingly enough, like anywhere else, there were people who used fences, low walls, or whatever was available as ad hoc street furniture, to sit on.
Most of the people used H.S. as a meeting place, and to wait for somebody is often a painstaking act. When both parties were punctual, the meeting was almost instantaneous, but often people had to wait for a longer time, 15 minutes or even 30 minutes. Some were patient enough to wait for 20 minutes while others were irritated if their partners came 10 minutes after the appointed time. Generally speaking, however, people were found to be quite punctual and tolerant of each other. Out of the 8mm film data, the average waiting time was calculated.
The following are the results of the data gathered on waiting time.
Morning average(6:09-11:00) . . . . . . 13.3 minutes
Afternoon average(11:00-5:00) . . . . .10.2 minutes
Evening average(5:00-7:00) . . . . . . . 8.6 minutes
These results show a steady decrease in the average waiting time as the day progresses. A man asleep on one of the benches for a total of 231 minutes was counted in the morning data raising the average significantly. However, even if he is deleted from the data, the morning average remains the highest at 11.6 minutes. This is 1.4 minutes higher than the afternoon average. This 1.4 difference in the averages is roughly the same as the 1.6 minute difference between the afternoon and evening averages.
These averages may be slightly higher than the averages of the area as a whole if they could be calculated. From observations it was noted that the people on these benches wait longer than those in areas 1 or 2. They are not usually waiting attentively: they are often reading or engaged in absorbing conversations. Moreover, when interviewed several said that they were not waiting but killing time. This is perhaps because from these positions it is difficult to see the station entrance, although the rest of the meeting point is visible. It was noted that the people who were waiting for someone who came soon waited standing in a place where they could see and watch the station entrance. People who were not waiting or waited a long time usually waited sitting and often in a place where they could not see the entrance, like areas 8, 9, and 10.
In order to see the rhythm of people at H.S. more closely, a series of observations was conducted by researchers for several days. They spent a whole day sitting on a bench, and recorded everything which happened, observed from that position. The following is an example of such detailed observation records. The record, needless to say, covered only a part of the drama which took place at H.S., but yet, it shows that many people with different behavior patterns appeared and disappeared one after another. (In this example, the observation data of the most common behavior, waiting, is omitted to avoid endless repetition.)
All the tough-looking men have moved to have a seat in area no. 9. A man in a Hawaiian print shirt has taken it off. "Mr. Blue Shirt" talks to him for a minute and the boy reading shakes his head and looks uncomfortably around him.
Two girls, one scantily clad in a blue jean skirt and halter top, the other in a long skirt and peasant blouse, are sitting in area No. 6.
A little girl with her brother is hanging on Hachiko's legs and patting him.
There is a group of three mothers and five children in front of the fountain.
There is a man, college student age, with a towel on his head, leaning on the statue of Hachiko. He is patting Hachiko.
Two policemen just walked through glancing at the people in the area.
The two junior-high school-aged girls drinking sat down next to a foreigner and began to talk to him. They looked around and began giggling. Their movements are free and unconstrained. One has her legs crossed, the other her ankles, as they drink. They shake hands with the foreigner when they notice that two more of their friends have arrived. They get up and head toward the station and their friends. The foreigner gets up also and moves toward the station. They all wave goodbye.
Two high school aged boys are talking intently in area No.6.
Two old ladies are patting Hachiko. Now they are standing next to it, one leaning her arm on the base.
An old man is patting Hachiko.
A group of about eight children and two or three mothers is leaning on the railing around the back side of the fountain. The children are shouting at the noise pollution register. The mothers herd them away as quickly as they came.
One lady carrying a lunch has joined another under the awning in area 2. One is in about her late 50s and one in her early 60s or so. The younger woman who came last with a lunch begins to eat ravenously. The second older lady gazes off into space, talking while the younger one wipes her face and hands.
The lady who was eating got up, threw away the wrapper from her lunch and went toward the station leaving the older lady sitting under the awning.
A young high school aged couple sits under the lights. He puts his arms around her as they animately talk. She smoothes his hair back from his forehead. Now she puts her arm around him. They are both in jeans. She sits with her legs apart. Now she puts one leg up on the bench, turns her back to his side, her arm resting in back of his leg for support, and tilts her head to rest on his shoulder. Her short hair is done up in a high pony tail revealing long gold earrings.
2:58 There is another couple under the awning in area 2. They were sitting but he now takes off his geta and lies down using her lap as a pillow. She rests her arm across his chest and plays with his hair. He is now crossing one leg up in the air on top of the other so that it sticks out toward the center of the square.
3:15 The couple under the awning in area 2 is still there. He is wearing overalls and she is wearing regular jeans.
she is playing with his mustache but as she does he grabbs her finger with his mouth sucking it or biting it so she can not wrench it free. She whimpers, he lets go, and she wipes it on the bib of his overalls.
3:20 The young couple is still there. He caresses her shoulders. Now he is beginning to put on his geta that he shed in order to curl up his feet underneath him on the bench. They both rise and stroll toward the street.
3:25 A group of six men stopped briefly in front of Hachiko, all but one wearing dark suits. The one man in a summer beige suit wore a black armband. They continued toward the street.
3:45 An older man just lifted a newspaper out of a trash can and walked away.
4:55 "Mr. Blue Shirt" is here again. He and this group have been here since about 8:30 this morning although they disappear and reappear alternately. He sits next to someone sitting next to observers. They talk and light each other's cigarettes. They try to read the observer's notes. They get up and walk away purposefully.
(The area is getting more an more crowded.)
Behavior Catagorization through Interviews
As the data shows, there were people who used H.S. for purposes other than waiting. There were people who were just taking a rest on benches, or who came to visit Hachiko statue for sentimental reasons, and after a series of interviews with those who were at H.S., certain categorization of behaviors seemed to be feasible.
"I am waiting for a friend today, but I often use this place for dates, too. Hachiko is a good landmark which anyone can easily find. I am going to the Koen-dori area just to walk around after I meet with my friend. If I promise to meet someone, I will certainly wait up to 30 minutes." (a student, male)
"I am waiting for a friend here. I use this place as a meeting point, but only rarely, but as far as I meet with someone in Shibuya, usually I make the appointment either at H.S. or at the station entrance. I associate the image of Hachiko with Shibuya. Hachiko is a symbol of the area. I am patient enough to wait for someone even for an hour." (young female)
"I do not use H.S. as my meeting place often, but when I am going to meet with someone from the countryside, I usually make an appointment here because anyone can identify Hachiko. It depends on the friend how long I'd wait. For a close friend, I'd wait two hours. Today,I am expecting my good friend, and we have something to do in this neighborhood." (middle-aged female)
Those who just wanted to escape from crowds or to kill time, might use H.S. as a free resting place (though not restful.) Especially elderly people liked to sit on one of the benches and take a rest. The following is an example.
Surprisingly, there were some elderly people who visited H.S. to renew their memories of the area, especially of Hachiko himself. For those people, H.S. seemed to be a place for a sentimental journey in a neighborly atmosphere. The following is an example:
Q:Excuse me, we're observing this area in our research of Hachiko.
A:Yes.
Q:Just a minute ago, you were patting the statue of Hachiko, I believe. Is there some reason...?
A:Well, yes, I guess I'm really getting old, I was just reminiscing about the old days, for I've known this statue ever since it was built. It's been a long time since I've seen it so that's why I was patting it, I guess.
Q:Oh, really? When was the statue built?
A:Hum, now just when was it built, let me see.....
Q:Well, according to what I've investigated, I heard it was first completed in 1934 and placed inside the station.
A:Well, I'm not sure about that, but I know about when it was built here.
Q:Oh, really?
A:Well, now, because of course it was before the war, wasn't it? And it was before that so if we say ten, twenty or so years before the war...Well, I don't really know. At any rate, it's been been a long time since I've been here.
Q:Was it used as a meeting place at the time it was just built?
A:Well, yes. Yes, it was. Because it certainly wasn't as confusing as it is now.
Q:Then at that time before the War, was the statue here?
A:Yes, yes it was here. Well now, the station, Tokyu Department Store is here. Ah ha, now that I think of it, the statue was right in front of the station entrance, I believe.
Q:Oh, really?
A:Yes, now I remember. This is Dogenzaka, isn't it? (pointing in the direction of Dogenzaka)
Q:Yes this is Dogenzaka.
A:I live in Nagoya now, so its been a long time since I've met Hachiko, so just for a short while...
Q:Oh, so you've come to greet the statue?
A:Well, I pet it.
Q:Well, I guess you have an attachment to it then?
A:No, not really an attachment, I just was recalling the past.
Q:Oh, is that so. Thank you very much.
4) Mixed Motivations
There was another middle-aged woman had mixed motivations for coming to H.S.
"My children use H.S. as their meeting place. It is an easy place to find, but I think its a noisy boisterous place from what I can see. Though children come here often, as a waiting place, its so crowded and bustling that I don't like it very much. As for myself, I came to Tokyo in 1955, but in those days it was rare for me to come here, so I do not remember Hachiko well. But I think the statue was in the same place, but it was not so terribly dirty as it is these days. Shibuya in 1955 wasn't as lively as it is now, though. The buildings around here have changed. Above all, the number of people here has increased. After all, Shibuya is the second or third (I'm not sure) largest place in Tokyo, where people gather. Young and well-dressed 'beautiful' people have increased in number. I think it is necessary for a person like myself to come to a place like this and look around to understand young people. Just being inside the house there will be differences in opinion (among family members) sometimes but I think I can understand young people a bit by coming to a place like this. One reflects on oneself, too."
5) Recruitment
In the observation record (p. 66) there was a man tentatively called "Mr. Black-Sweater." He seemed to be one of the regulars of H.S., and the observer-interviewer found his activities very interesting and unique. Apparently, he was a recruiter who looked for temporary daily laborers. He might earn commissions by sending bums, hippies, and other unemployed people to construction sites to do odd jobs. He might, from observation-also be connected with underground gangsters. The interviewee was somewhat funny, but he demonstrated an unexpected use of H.S. He made himself available for an interview, by sitting down and striking up a conversation with the interviewers one day.
A:You have a nice camera, don't you? Are you making a living by taking pictures?
Q:No, I'm not.
A:Some kind of art related work?
Q:It looks like it, doesn't it?
A:Can I ask, if you are popular with girls? Don't girls like you?
Q:No, that's not really so.
A:Yes, it is so. You look like you are popular. It shows in your face. You must be popular.
Q:You flatter people.
A:No, no, its shows in your face, you're popular among girls.
Q:Do you always wait for your friends?
A:Yes, I'm always waiting, always waiting here.
Q:How long do you wait?
A:I wait 30 minutes.
Q:Then do you go home?
A:Yes.
Q:Today are you here on business?
A:Yes, well work, work. Today's also work.
Q:Just work? You meet a friend, then go to work?
A:Yes, yes. I go to work. You're still very young, aren't you? In your teens, 17 or 18 aren't you?
Q:Around that age, yes.
A:Seventeen or eighteen, right? High school? College? Yes, a college student, right? You're 17 or...
Q:Excuse me, but what type of work are you doing?
A:It ain't very clean work. Because it ain't clean work I can't say what it is. Not clean work at all. (He laughs.) To be like you, I can't imagine it. Ah, if I only had something like that camera...I'm embarrassed. If I said what I did, I'd be ashamed...Because I'm ashamed. I'm not a clean-cut guy like you are. Art...Say, why are you recording this?
Q:We record what people say about the use of this area.
A:And this? (indicating observation notebook)
Q:In this we are recording what people do. For example I wrote there's an elderly lady sitting on the bench there.
A:I bet a lot of guys try to pick her up like this. (looking at female observer)
Q:Where?
A:No, no what I said was, isn't she approached by a lot of guys? Isn't that right? She's a good-looking chick. Too bad for me, isn't it. But gee whiz, to be beaten out by this guy! You see, but well...to have a girl like this...(sighs)I'm a bachelor.
Q:Oh really?
A:Yeah, I am a bachelor, and bachelors are popular with the ladies. But well, no woman will marry me. I'm not any good.
Q:What time did you come here today?
A:Today? I came 30 minutes ago.
Q:What time are you meeting your friend?
A:What was that? Maybe he should be coming soon, I suppose. Its five to, so they'll be here soon since they're comming at 10:00.
Q:Do you always wait here at 10:00?
A:Yes.
Q:Why do you use Hachiko?
A:Well, you say why? (Another person, acquainted with the interviewee strolls up) Why is it? Well, I guess Hachiko can be used in various ways, can't it? (laughs) Well, I've got to be going.
Notes
Kato Hidetoshi's Data Base
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