Demilitarization

In Tokyo the neighbors used to step aside to avoid his arrogant, abusive snarls and vicious manner, but none dared criticize Fifty Bells; he was a soldier trained to fight for the Emperor. "He is the finest shepherd dog in Japan," said Kazuo Akai, Fifty Bells's devoted master. But despite the boast and despite his own arrogant strutting, Fifty Bells never got a chance to show his mettle.

One morning in 1945, shortly before he was to go to the front, Fifty Bells's ears were assailed by the screams of sirens and the drone of enemy bombing planes over Tokyo. Next morning, when the bombers had gone away, he was nowhere to be found. Without Fifty Bells, the Akais moved to Chiba, where they stayed until Japan's surrender.

Back in Tokyo again, the Akai family built a tidy shack on the ruins of their old home. While they huddled over a charcoal fire, as the midnight gong beat out the old year, Akai San heard a scratching at the door. Outside, a shabby dog whined and howled. "Go away, mutt!" shouted Akai, but the dog waved his tail and, crawling on his belly, came even closer. Suddenly recognition came. "It's Fifty Bells!" shouted Akai, hugging the dog, while the family gathered in wonder.

Fifty Bells is a changed dog. "He is no longer vicious," says Akai. "He no longer snaps. He seems now to be a humble dog." And Mrs. Akai agrees. "Yes," she says, "I guess you could say that Fifty Bells has gone democratic."

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