010. Sadako Sasaki and the thousand paper cranes

Two-year-old Sadako Sasaki was living in Hiroshima, Japan, when the atom bomb fell on the city. Her house, which was about a mile from the epicentre of the blast, was destroyed. Her brother Masahiro and their grandmother were injured but, miraculously, Sadako and her mother remained unharmed. They escaped from the collapsed house and fled toward the river. Along the way, Sadako’s grandmother turned back to get something from the house. She was never seen again.

Cancer strikes

Sadako’s father returned from the War and, slowly, their life returned to normal. Later Sadako joined school and even became an athlete. In 1954, however, when she was eleven, she developed lumps in her neck and was diagnosed with leukemia or blood cancer. (Thousands of bomb survivors in fact developed cancer due to the radiation and died.)

It is said that, when Sadako became ill, her best friend, Chizuko Hamamoto, reminded her of the Japanese belief: If you fold 1000 paper cranes, the Gods will make your wish come true. Hamamoto then made a beautiful golden crane out of a piece of paper and gave it to her. The Japanese consider the crane as a mystical creature and often give paper cranes to friends and relatives as gifts for special occasions.

Sadako then began making paper cranes every day. Even paper was a scarce commodity those days and Sadako used paper from medicine bottles, candy wrappers, and left-over gift wraps. Her wish was to get well again, and to bring peace and healing to all the victims. Even as she was making more and more cranes, Sadako’s condition worsened and she died on 25^th October 1955. By that time, she had folded 644 cranes, some of which were placed in her casket when she was buried.

Memorial for Sadako

Sadako’s classmates were heart broken. They made 356 cranes to reach the figure of thousand. Then they went beyond and decided to build a memorial for Sadako. They began a movement to raise funds for a monument. Their call elicited a huge response that they had not anticipated. More than 3000 schools around Japan sent money. In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane was unveiled at the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima. At the base of the statue, there is a plaque that says:

This is our cry.
This is our prayer.
Peace in the world.

Sadako’s story and the message of peace spread across the world and children from different countries have been sending paper cranes to Hiroshima. Every day, one can see hundreds of such cranes at the Memorial. Sadako Sasaki has become a symbol of world peace.

Afterword: Several books describing the Sadako story have been published in different languages. There are also some Sadako videos on YouTube.

There are books and websites that teach you origami or the art of paper folding. You can find instructions for folding paper cranes here.

In the 2020 book The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki and the Thousand Paper Cranes, written by Sue DiCicco in collaboration with Sadako’s older brother, masahiro, I found this poem credited to her (though I am unable to authenticate it):

Do you know that the wind feels good?

Do you know that the air is delicious?

To walk without worry.

To sleep without care.

To eat without concern.

So many take for granted these simple pleasures.

Do you? I hope you do not.

Be thankful for these things.