An Unlikely True Story
The romance of Marilyn and Shiro became famous with the release of the 1988 movie Shiro and Marilyn. Shiro, a male dog raised in a traditional inn on Aka Island, regularly swam 3 kilometers from Nishibama Beach on Aka Island to Zamami Island to see Marilyn, a female dog who lived there. People were moved by the gutsiness and courage of Shiro. Shiro starred as himself in the movie, but Marilyn had already passed on when filming took place in 1987. This statue of Marilyn gazes across the waves at a statue of Shiro that stands in the harbor of Aka Island.