The faithful dog Tamako is not forgotten. Children of Niigata attend a memorial service festival/Yokosuka

Translated from the original article at: http://news.kanaloco.jp/localnews/article/1203290031/

March 29, 2012

In front of Tamako's stone monument, children of Kawauchi Elementary School clasp their hands in prayer=Kinugasayama Park, Koyabe, Yokosuka City

10 years prior, the closely involved Yokosuka City and Muramatsu Town (Presently Gosen City) of Niigata Prefecture took the opportunity to create an exchange program involving the memorial service festival for the loyal dog Tamako. It’s held on the 29^th of each year in Kinugasayama Park of Koyabe, Yokosuka City. The children of Niigata’s Gosen Kawauchi Municipal Elementary School, which had closed in 2011, came to attend. There, locals of Yokosuka connected to Tamako let their memories come rushing back.

Raised in Muramatsu Town, Tama the Shiba Inu became known for rescuing his master twice during hunting expeditions in 1934 and 1936. Both times, the master was ensnared in avalanches occurring in the valleys.

Newspapers and radio of the time picked up the master’s story. Though the moving tale became famous within the city of Yokosuka, within the year, Yokosuka City residents born within Niigata erected a stone monument in the city's public park. The memorial service festival is held annually, along with the Kinugasa Cherry Blossom Festival (Organized by the Kinugasa tourism association), as a ceremony for that year’s opening of the mountains.

The exchange program began in 2002. Feeling that Tama was a good subject for a musical performance, Muramatsu Town’s elementary school students wrote letters to then Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro, who in return invited the children to visit Yokosuka. Afterwards, citizens of both cities deepened their mutual visits and trade. In 2006, Muramatsu Town merged into Gosen City, continuing the strengthened relations.

"So that the starting point of the exchange program is not forgotten," 32 children from grades 4-6 of Kawauchi Elementary and other merged area schools participated in the memorial festival, marking a decrease this year. 12 children becoming junior high students in April commented "We're grateful that Tamako came to be connected with Yokosuka. We wish for lots of people to know of his acts of bravery."

Original text:

「忠犬タマ公」忘れない、新潟の子どもと慰霊祭/横須賀

2012年3月29日

「忠犬タマ公」の石碑の前で手を合わせる川内小学校の子どもたち＝横須賀市小矢部の衣笠山公園

10年前から親交がある横須賀市と新潟県村松町（現・五泉市）の交流のきっかけをつくった「忠犬タマ公」の慰霊祭が29日、横須賀市小矢部の衣笠山公園で行われた。２０１１年度で閉校する五泉市立川内小学校の子どもたちも新潟から訪れ、横須賀と地元をつなぐタマ公に思いをはせた。

村松町で飼われていたタマは、１９３４（昭和９）年と36（同11）年、狩猟に出掛けた先の同地の山あいで雪崩に巻き込まれた飼い主を２度にわたって救ったことで知られる雌のシバイヌ。

飼い主を思うタマの行為は当時の新聞やラジオで取り上げられ、横須賀市内でも評判になり、話に感激した新潟出身の横須賀市民らが同年、同公園に石碑を建てた。慰霊祭は、同公園で開かれる「衣笠さくら祭」（衣笠観光協会主催）の山開き式に合わせて毎年行われている。

交流の始まりは10年前。村松町の小学生が、タマを題材にしたミュージカルを演じる旨を伝える手紙を当時の小泉純一郎首相に送ったことがきっかけで、同首相が子どもたちを横須賀に招待。以来、両市町の住民らが相互訪問や物産展を通じて交流を深め、06年に同町が五泉市と合併して以降も親交を続けている。

「交流の原点を忘れないために」と、児童数の減少に伴い新年度から他校と合併する川内小の４～６年生計32人も慰霊祭に参加。４月に中学生になる児童（12）ら子どもたちは「タマ公がつくった縁で横須賀に来られてうれしい。たくさんの人に勇敢なタマ公のことを知ってほしい」と話していた。