Welcome to "Learn Japanese from the News."

In this program we'll learn Japanese and about the country through Japanese news stories.

Our headline for today is:

Dog Parade Marks 100 Years Since Birth of Hachiko.

The Hachiko statue in front of
Shibuya Station is a popular photo spot.

Yes, there's always lots of international and local visitors there taking a selfie with him.

Now, before we listen to the story in Japanese, let's go over some key terms.

"kainushi."

pet owner.

"zoo."

statue.

"kinen-suru."

to commemorate.

OK, try to follow along.

There is a statue of an Akita dog named Hachiko
in front of Shibuya Station in Tokyo.

Hachiko became famous

for waiting for his owner at Shibuya Station
for about 10 years after his owner passed away.

On December 2,

there was an event to commemorate
the 100th anniversary of Hachiko's birth.

About 40 Akita dogs gathered
from various places around Japan.

The dogs walked around Shibuya Station
with their owners for about an hour.

Many people gathered on the sidewalks
and took pictures.

A woman who came to see the event said,

"I petted an Akita dog for the first time.
It was so fluffy and cute."

Hachiko's "kainushi" was Ueno Hidesaburo, who was a professor at Tokyo University.

One day Ueno died suddenly at work,

but Hachiko continued to go to Shibuya Station to await his master's return.

He was featured in newspapers and came to be widely known as "chuuken Hachi-koo."

The word "chuuken" means "faithful dog."

People were so moved by Hachiko's story that they donated money

to fund the erection of a statue in his honor.

In the word "chuuken,"

"ken" is an alternate reading of "inu,"
the kanji for "dog."

OK, let's review the following expression from the story.

Hachiko became famous for waiting for his owner at Shibuya Station
for about 10 years after his owner passed away.

Now read along with me.

"Hachi-koo wa

kainushi ga nakunatta ato mo juu-nen gurai

Shibuya-eki de kainushi o matte ite

yuumee ni narimashita."

The key phrase here is "nakunatta."

In daily conversation we often use "nakunatta" to describe losing something, like a possession.

For example,

"Saifu ga 'nakunatta.'"
(I lost my wallet.)

That's right.

"Nakunaru" is how we say that
something we had is now gone.

When we want to convey that
someone has died,

we avoid the direct expression
"shinda," and say "nakunatta."

For example...

"Tomodachi ga shinimashita."
(My friend died.)

...sounds a bit insensitive.

That's true. And it's a lot like how we use "pass away" in English.

It sounds a little more respectful and less harsh than saying "they died."

So it's preferable to say,

"Tomodachi ga 'nakunarimashita.'"
(My friend passed away.)

"Nakunarimashita" sounds more gentle.

Note that we don't use it when
talking about the death of an animal.

When using "nakunaru" to mean "died,"
we use a kanji that means "to die."

This kanji can also be read "boo."
It's used in expressions like "shiboo-suru."

Yes. For instance, you might see a news headline that says,

"jidoosha-jiko de ni-mee 'shiboo.'"
(Two people killed in car crash.)

It's used in objective writing,
like when reporting the news.

Bite-size Japan.

So, as we heard in the story, Hachiko was an "akita-inu," that is, an Akita dog.

For those unfamiliar, this is what they look like!

Yup, this is a life-size cutout of a typical Akita.

It's bigger than I thought!

I know what you mean. This is really, yeah, big.

The Akita breed originated in the city of Odate in Akita Prefecture, which is in northern Japan.

Centuries ago, Odate was a center of dog fighting,

and owners bred dogs to be bigger, eventually leading to the Akita's current appearance.

In terms of distinctive features, they have pointed ears and a curly tail.

They're known to be loyal, and tend to grow very attached to their owner.

They're also highly intelligent as well as vigilant.

Now, the number of registered Akitas here in Japan went into a decline starting the 1970s,

and today their number remains low.

Let's look at how one group is working to preserve and promote the Akita Inu.

This is Akita Dog Station, a facility near Akita Station run by an organization that's working to save the native breed.

Every Saturday and Sunday, they invite the public to come and meet their roster of doggies.

A specialist trainer is on site,

sharing her love for Akitas and teaching people how to best interact with them.

Because larger breeds have a reputation for being harder to handle than smaller ones,

Akita ownership has stagnated in recent years.

Here's Akita trainer Suzuki Akiko.

If your pup begins to bite,
yell "Ouch!"

She says it can be hard work at first,

but if you assert yourself as the leader while they're still young,

they'll become your loyal companion.

Akitas are among the smartest
dog breeds out there.

You couldn't ask for a better partner.

Now, if you plan on getting an Akita, or really any dog for that matter,

you have to look into how you and they can live together happily.

For example, my family, we've had a succession of corgis.

Now, they're adorable, and they look like lapdogs,

but they're actually extremely energetic and very smart.

So we spent a lot of time with them outside, playing and training them,

because we love them very much, and we want them and us to be happy.

Wow, wonderful!

Japanese has many expressions
and sayings related to dogs.

The kanji for dog can be read as "ken,"
as in "chuuken."

Let's go over some other words
that include "ken."

Take a look at this.

Oh, very cute, very beloved puppy!

So, I guess that's an "aiken"?

That's right.

We call a beloved pet dog "aiken."
For example...

"Mainichi, 'aiken' to sanpo-shimasu."
(I take a walk with my beloved dog every day.)

OK, Yoshikawa-san!

What idiom describes this situation?

So, it looks like they're not getting along very well.

So it must be...

"ken-en no naka."
(on very bady terms.)

"Ken" means "dog." "En" means "monkey."

In Japan, dogs and monkeys were
traditionally seen as not getting along.

So it's a metaphor for people
who are always fighting.

I see, that's really fascinating. So it would be,

"Ano futari wa 'ken-en no naka' da."
(Those two fight like cats and dogs.)

Oh wow, I love to learn about all these animal-related phrases in Japanese. They're great.

OK. That's all for today.

We'll see you next time.

See you soon.