Sometimes the connectedness of the world confounds me. A few months back I stumbled across the story of a dog who would meet his master at the train station after work and walk home with him. One day, his master died while away at work and never came home. So loyal was the Akita that he continued to wait for him each evening at the station for the rest of his life. I was touched by the story both because I have a loyal dog and because of how the community around the station responded to and took care of him throughout his life. When the dog finally died, a bronze statue was erected in his memory.
Today, as I was exiting the Shibuya station my friend mentioned a statue of a dog that is a popular landmark for meeting up with friends. This mention sparked an idea in my head about the project we are working on and has occupied my thoughts throughout most of the day today. It wasn’t until I got home and googled about the dog at the Shibuya station that I realized the dogs are one and the same.
How is it that a simple statue, no more than a meter high and placed halfway around the world could become so personally meaningful to me? Strange. Wonderful.
