Sadako Sasaki was a Japanese girl living in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan (August 6, 1945). In 1955, at age 11, Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia, a type of cancer caused by the atomic bomb.
While in the hospital, Sadako started to fold paper cranes. In Japan, there is a belief that if you folded 1000 paper cranes, then your wish would come true. Sadako spent 14 months in the hospital, folding paper cranes with whatever paper she could get. Her wish was that she would get well again. Sadako also wished for an end to all suffering and to attain peace and healing to the victims of the world.
While in the hospital, Sadako started to fold paper cranes. In Japan, there is a belief that if you folded 1000 paper cranes, then your wish would come true. Sadako spent 14 months in the hospital, folding paper cranes with whatever paper she could get. Her wish was that she would get well again. Sadako also wished for an end to all suffering and to attain peace and healing to the victims of the world.
Sadako died on October 25, 1955, she was 12 years old and had folded over 1300 paper cranes. Sadako’s friends and classmates raised money to build a memorial in honor of Sadako and other atomic bomb victims. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial was completed in 1958 and has a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane. At the base is a plaque that says:
This is our cry.
This is our prayer.
Peace in the world.*
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| The Children's Memorial in Hiroshima's Peace Park. The memorial is festooned with thousands of pretty, paper cranes. |
Today is August 6, 2012. It is the 67th anniversary of the day the United States dropped world's first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. This Olympic season, I have been unable to shake a heavy sense of sadness. As we marvel at the beauty and power of the human body, let us not forget that that same body is capable of inflicting incredible pain. Sadako's wish for peace is still a distant dream. Children are dying in Syria, right now. What if the whole world poured that same Olympic fervor into bringing those children peace?
*Story from the Origami Resource Center.
Disclaimer: I do my best to make sure all my information is accurate. However, details may change or I may just be flat-out wrong. Please let me know if something needs a correction. Thank-you!
Such a sad and beautiful story. Thanks for writing something so thought provoking.
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