（１４３）　Ｍｓ．　Ｍｅｒｃｉ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｄｏｇ　ｉｎ　４－ｃｈｏｍｅ

There are parks named “Ujo Noguchi Poem Park” which border the Nakago service area. The parks honor the lyrics of nursery rhymes written by Ujo Noguchi. The eastern part of the two parks is slightly larger and well known. The eastern park has seven nursery rhyme monuments (while the western park has six). They are:

・Seven children
・Golden bug
・Rabbit dance
・Racoon dog in Shojoji
・Dog in 4-chome
・Fifteen nights moon
・The bales are around

"The dog in 4-chome" is the title of a nursery rhyme. It was published in the March 1919 issue of "Kin no Fune", a literary magazine.

Photo 1 is a poem about a dog in 4-chome. The dog statue is a little small, about the size of a guinea pig.

The nursery rhyme in Photo 1 is difficult to read, so I will transcribe it:

"Dog in 4-chome"

Children in 1-chome
Go home

Children in 2-chome
ran away crying

The dog in 4-chome
is a long-legged dog

At the corner of 3-chome
It was looking at them

It's a nursery rhyme, but it's a little hard to understand. This is a summary of the commentary written by Ujo Noguchi in "Children's Song and Children's Heart Art" in 1918.

"The barking dog in 4-chome is looking at you from the corner of 3-chome, so the kids in 1-chome and 2-chome, please hurry home before it barks."

In the commentary, there are some children. There were no Chihuahuas in Japan in 1918, so I’m wondering what kind of dog a long-legged dog was? The dog wasn’t tied to a leash, so you can see that it was a more relaxed era.

Near the dog monument in Photo 1, there are statues of children and one dog. They are life-sized. There is no information board, but it seems to be statues of children in 1-chome and 2-chome, and the dog in 4-chome.


①This is a poetry monument of “the dog in 4-chome”.


②I'm looking at “the dog in 4-chome”.


③ I'm sitting near “the dog in 4-chome”. It seems that “the dog in 4-chome” barked like I do.



④ I'm lined up with “the dog in 4-chome”. We are the same height and are like sisters.