Hanako

Hanako in 2006
Species	Elephas maximus
Sex	Female
Born	1947 Thailand
Died	May 26, 2016(2016-05-26) (aged 68–69) Inokashira Park Zoo

Hanako(Japanese: はな子, 1947- 26 May 2016) was a female Asian elephant who lived in Japan. Born in Thailand, she was brought to the Ueno Zoo as a young elephant, the first elephant to be imported into the country after World War II. She was joined shortly after by Indira, an elephant from India, but the two were separated after a few years when Indira was sent on a tour of Japan and Hanako sent to Inokashira Park Zoo. In 1956, a few years after her arrival in Inokashira, Hanako killed a drunken man who had entered her habitat at night. Two years later, she accidentally killed one of her keepers. These incidents led to negative attention towards Hanako. Zoo visitors dubber her a "killer elephant" and threw projectiles at her, leading Hanako to experience physical and mental health issues. Inokashira Zoo bought in a handler, Yamakawa Seizō to care for her. Yamakawa spent six years nursing Hanako back to health, and then continued to work as her keeper until his retirement in 1991. Their story was made into both a television program and a book.

In 2015, a Canadian animal rights activist wrote a blog post about Hanako's living conditions at zoo. Hanako lived in a concrete enclosure and she lacked access to greenery or other elephants. Over 400,000 people signed a petition asking Inokashira Zoo to agree to move Hanako to an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. After consultations with elephant experts, the activists, and the zoo, this was determined to be an unhelpful solution. Due to Hanako's advanced age, it was unlikely that she could be safely moved or that she would enjoy the company of other elephants. Inokashira Zoo agreed to make improvements to Hanako's habitat, and give her more toys.

Hanako died in 2016, at the age of sixty-nine. At the time of her death, she was the oldest elephant in Japan. Over a thousand people attended a memorial ceremony for her at the zoo, and in 2017 the city of Musashino erected a statue in her honour.

In the aftermath of World War Two and the starvation of Ueno Zoo's previous elephants, the president of Japanese publishing company Kodansha, Shoichi Noma, arranged with the Thai businessman Somwang Sarasas to export an elephant of his from Thailand.^[1][2] Sarasas selected Gajah,^[3] also called Gachako, a young calf who had been born in 1947 in Thailand,^[4] and donated her to Japan.^[1][2] Meanwhile, the Ueno Zoo made arrangements with the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers to allow elephants to be taken into the country.^[3]

Two year old Hanako^[1] arrived at the Port of Kobe on September 2,^[5] 1949.^[6] Japan National Railways organized a train to take her from the port to her new home at Ueno Zoo. During stops, Hanako was forced to exit the train and greet crowds of children. Her keeper had originally planned for a truck to transport her from the final station to Ueno Zoo, but, due to the crowds, he was forced to walk with her for the final part of their journey.^[5] She arrived at the zoo on September 4. On September 10,^[3] she was renamed Hanako, after a former elephant at Ueno Zoo, in a contest by Japanese schoolchildren.^[5]

Hanako was the first elephant imported into post-war Japan.^[5] There were only two other elephants in the country on the date of her arrival, both from the Higashiyama Zoological Gardens.^[7] A few weeks after Hanako's arrival, she was joined by the older Indira.^[8][9] Indira was gifted to Japan by Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and she, at first, "eclipsed" Hanako's arrival. Once both elephants were on display, ten thousand people came to the zoo to see them.^[9] In 1952, due to the pair's popularity, The Asahi Shimbun and the city of Tokyo sponsored a tour across the country for Indira.^[10] Hanako, the smaller and younger of the two, was to remain behind.^[8]

In March 1954, a few years after the departure of Indira, Hanako was moved to live by herself at the Inokashira Park Zoo in Tokyo.^[8] When a drunk man with a history of harassing zoo animals^[11] entered the elephant habitat one night in 1956, Hanako killed him.^[8][12] His naked corpse was discovered the next day by zookeepers, leading them to believe that Hanako had removed his clothing.^[11] Four years later, in April 1960, Hanako's keeper, 53 year old Masaki Saito,^[13] was caught in her chains and she accidentally trampled him to death.^[8] Due to the two deaths, public sentiment turned against Hanako. Zoo visitors threw objects at her, and called her a "killer elephant". Hanako became anxious, depressed, and stopped eating^[8] or making public appearances.^[14] Her upper teeth fell out and she started to suffer from malnutrition.^[8]

To care for Hanko, the Inokashira zoo brought in a keeper, Yamakawa Seizō, from the Tama Zoological Park.^[8] Yamakawa spent six years coaxing Hanako and feeding her potatoes and carrots to help her regain her strength.^[14] Yamakawa continued to work as Hanako's keeper until his retirement in 1991,^[14][15] after which he refused to see her in order so that she could get used to her new keepers.^[14] Yamakawa's work with her was turned into a television show and a children's book:^[12][4] Hanako the Elephant: That's why she's here.^[1][16]

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, a series of accidents relating to Hanako and her keepers caused the zoo to switch to a more hands-off style of elephant keeping. Several keepers had knocked over by Hanako, and the zoo was concerned for their safety. The zoo also announced plans for her sleeping quarters to be refurbished.^[12]

In 2015, Canadian animal rights activist Ulara Nakagawa wrote a blog post condemning Hanako's living conditions^[6][17] and calling the elephant habitat at Inokshira a "concrete prison".^[18] Hanako's enclosure, which she had lived in by herself ever since her arrival at Inokashira, lacked greenery and was made of concrete^[19] in a style similar to many other Japanese animal enclosures. Hanako only had access to a small pool and a sheltered room.^[20] In response to Nakagawa's post, Hanako was nicknamed the "loneliest elephant in the world"^[21] and members of the public started a petition encouraging the zoo to improve her living situation^[22] and send her to live in a sanctuary in her native Thailand.^{[6] [18]} The director of the zoo initially called the petition "self-righteous and bigoted".^[20] Nearly 470,000^[21] people signed, and 30,000USD was raised to pay for an elephant expert, Carol Buckley, to visit her. Due to the elephant's age, Buckley, Nakagawa, and the zoo agreed that Hanako could not be safely moved from the zoo, and that after spending so long in isolation, the presence of other elephants would stress her.^[6][18] They also believed that expanding her enclosure or adding plants might frighten or confuse her, but that adding heaters and mats could improve her living situation.^[23] Inokashira Park Zoo did agree to make certain changes to Hanako's living spaces, such as by giving her more toys to play with^[22] and changing the fences around her enclosure. However, Hanako appeared to become distressed by the fences and refused to leave her barn.^[6] According to a zoo official, once Hanako died, they would not get another elephant.^[24][20]

Ever March, to celebrate Hanko's birthday, the Thai embassy in Japan bought her strawberries.^[6] In 2015, Japanese organizations donated a portrait of Hanako by Musashino artist Aki Fueda to the Thai embassy in commemoration of the 2015 Bangkok bombing.^[25]

According to one of Hanako's keepers, Kanai Kinsaku, Hanako was sensitive to human moods. According to Kinai, she refused to listen to him when he had recently argued with his wife and so he "had to maintain a calm state of mind in order to handle Hanako. By so doing, Hanako saved [his] marriage".^[14] According to other keepers, Hanako was fond of people,^[15] and enjoyed being hand-fed, brushed, and having her feet cleaned. She made happy noises when her caretakers entered her enclosure^[18] and enjoyed playing with tires and a tube.^[23] In the final years of her life, Hanako only had one tooth and her caregivers fed her wheat rice-balls, fruit, and peeled bananas. They also noted that she had become fussy, more sensitive to change,^[17] she had not been eating as much, and had been loosing strength.^[6] It was posthumously confirmed that she had developed arthritis in her right leg.^[26]

Memorials to Hanako at the Inokashira Park Zoo

On May 26, 2016, zookeepers discovered Hanako lying on the floor of her enclosure. They attempted to lift her upright to prevent her weight from causing internal injuries. She died later that afternoon, at the age of sixty-nine.^[22][27][28] According to an autopsy, she had died from respiratory failure, likely as a result of compression on her lungs. Her remains were donated to the National Museum of Nature and Science.^[26]

At the time of her death, she was the oldest elephant in Japan.^[22][27][28] The previous oldest elephant, Umeko, had died at the age of sixty-five in 2009.^[14] The governor of Tokyo Yōichi Masuzoe gave a statement after her death, saying that Hanako "gave dreams and hopes to children" in post-World War II Japan.^[27] A memorial attended by 1,200 people, including the Thai ambassador to Japan, Musashino mayor Morimasa Murakami [ja], and Mitaka city mayor Keiko Kiyohara [ja], was held outside Hanako's habitat. 2,800 people laid flowers for her.^[29]

One year after her death, a statue of Hanako was erected by the north exit of Kichijōji Station. It was paid for by donations and designed by local artist Aki Fueda.^[2][30] The donations had been solicited by the city of Musashino, through the use of donation boxes at public facilities.^[31] In July later that same year, Musashino city also started offering license plate for motorcycles shaped like Hanako.^[32]

After Hanako's death. the activist who brought attention to her living situation started an organization called Elephants in Japan that was designed to raise awareness of other solitary elephants in Japan.^[21]

• List of individual elephants
• Ziggy, an elephant in the United States kept confined for nearly thirty years

1.^ ゾウのはな子 ~だからココにいるんだよ, Zōnohanako ~dakara koko ni iru nda yo^[16]

• Itoh, Mayumi (2010), "Zoos in Japan in the Early Postwar Years", Japanese Wartime Zoo Policy, New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 161–184, doi:10.1057/9780230117440_9, ISBN 978-1-349-29183-0, retrieved 2025-02-22
• Miller, Ian Jared (2013). The Nature of the Beasts: Empire and Exhibition at the Tokyo Imperial Zoo (1 ed.). University of California Press. doi:10.1525/j.ctt3fh2wj.12. ISBN 978-0-520-27186-9.

• "Hanako the Elephant: 61 Years (and Counting) Alone in a Concrete Prison" by Ulara Nakagawa, the 2015 blog post about Hanako