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It seems strange because the name ハチ公 【こう】 combines Katakana and Kanji in one
word.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-18T10:21:01.350
39278
2016-09-19T08:54:23.330
2016-09-19T08:54:23.330
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question
katakana orthography names furigana
Why does the name of ハチ公 【こう】 include Katakana instead of Hiragana?
The nickname ハチ公 consists of the name ハチ followed by the suffix 〜公.

_Katakana_ is a common choice for writing names, even if the actual name is
written with _kanji_.

The suffix 〜公 is described in 大辞林 as follows

> **こう** 【公】
>
> ［一］（名） [...]
>
> ［二］（代） [...]
>
> ［三］（接尾）  
>  ①身分の高い人の名に付けて、敬意を表す。「家康━」  
>  ②人や動物の名前に付けて、親しみ、あるいはやや軽んずる気持ちを表す。「忠犬ハチ━」「熊━」

The suffix 〜公 is added to the names of people (of high standing) to show
respect or (by extension) to names of people or animals to express
affection/intimacy.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-18T11:04:13.057
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2016-09-18T11:04:13.057
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer