Sadako Sasaki
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Sadako Sasaki (Japanese:佐々木 禎子 Sasaki Sadako, January 7, 1943 – October 25, 1955) was a Japanese girl who lived near Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima, Japan. She was only two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. At the moment of explosion she was at her home, about 1 mile from ground zero.
In November of 1954 she developed a cold, and lumps developed on her neck and behind her ears that slowly moved towards her face. In January of 1955 purple spots started to form on her legs. She went to a hospital for testing and on February 18th of 1955 she was diagnosed with leukemia. The doctor ordered immediate hospitalization, and stated that she would have, at the most, a year to live. She was admitted to the hospital on February 21, 1955.
On August 3, 1955, Sadako saw a gift of one thousand origami paper cranes that were donated to the hospital from the people of Nagoya as a "Get Well" gift. She was inspired by the cranes, and became one of the many patients who began to fold the origami cranes. At the time of her death, she had folded over a thousand cranes.
Though she had plenty of free time during her days in the hospital to fold these cranes, she lacked paper. She would use medicine wrappings and whatever else she could scrounge up. This included going to other patient's rooms to ask to use the paper from their get well presents.
Though her family was distressed with the fervor she put into folding the cranes, she always told them that she 'had a plan'.
During this time her condition turned for the worst, her white blood cells peaking for the third time during her hospitalization. Her left leg turned purple and swelled far larger than normal around mid-October. The last thing she said was "It's good," speaking about the tea on rice that she had requested after her family was urging her to eat something. She was only able to eat two spoonfuls. With her family around her, she passed away on the morning of October 25, 1955 as if she were just going to sleep.
After her death, her friends and schoolmates published a collection of letters to raise funds to build a memorial to her and all of the children who died from the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. It was also a popular cause for children and others in Japan. In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. At the foot of the statue is a plaque which reads, This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.
There is also a statue of her in the Seattle Peace Park. Sadako has become a leading symbol of the impact of a nuclear war. Sadako is a heroine for many young girls.
Sadako's story became familiar to many schoolchildren around the world through the novels Sadako will leben (1961) by the Austrian writer Karl Bruckner and Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, first published in 1977. Sadako is also briefly mentioned in Children of the Ashes, Robert Jungk's historical account of the lives of Hiroshima victims and survivors. Her story continues to inspire millions to hope for lasting peace in the world.
In 1969, the Dagestani national poet Rasul Gamzatov was inspired by Sadako's story to write his most famous poem, Zhuravli. The jazz fusion band Hiroshima wrote a song called Thousand Cranes inspired by Sadako's story, and a tribute to the band's namesake city. Toward the end of the song, children's laughter can be heard.
 Sadako Sasaki memorial in Hiroshima, surrounded by paper cranes |
 A recent photo of the Children's Peace Memorial, showing the structures built to protect the paper cranes from the elements. |
[edit] See also
- Children's Peace Monument
- Thousand origami cranes
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
- Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
[edit] External links
- Sadako story from the Sadako organisation
- Sadako and the Paper Cranes — photos, a lot of various information on The Official Homepage of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
- Senzaburu Orikata - a 1797 book of origami designs to be used in the folding of thousand-crane amulets.
- "Cranes over Hiroshima" - lyrics to a song by Fred Small inspired by Sadako Sasaki
