SADAKO SASAKI
Sadako Sasaki was only two years old on 6th August 1945, the day when a very big bomb called an atomic (or nuclear) bomb was dropped near her home by Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima, Japan. CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE HIROSHIMA IS LOCATED
Sadako was blown out of the window by the huge explosion but somehow, although her clothes were burnt, she wasn’t hurt.
Whilst Sadako, her parents and her brother escaped to safety, lots of other people were killed or badly injured, and a large part of the city was destroyed in seconds. The bomb also let out a sort of poison called radiation, which can kill or badly hurt people it touches.
Sadako and her brother Masahiro grew up just like most other children around the world, despite what happened on that terrible day in 1945. When Sadako was 11, she was a very fast runner. But one day that year, she noticed that she had strange lumps on parts of her body. She went to see a doctor and they did some tests on her.
It was bad news. The doctor said that Sadako had a type of cancer caused by the bomb, called leukaemia. She was very ill and would have to go into hospital. Unfortunately, unlike today where most people with leukaemia survive, back in 1954 most people died from it. Sadako’s parents were heartbroken. They could not bear the thought of losing her. They bought her a kimono – a special Japanese dress – with pictures of cherry tree blossom on it, and it may have helped Sadako to feel a bit better about things.
Soon after Sadako went into hospital, her Father told her the Japanese legend that if you fold one thousand paper birds called cranes you would be granted a wish. This is because the crane is very special in Japan, and origami is the Japanese art of folding paper to make shapes such as animals. Sadako began to fold cranes. Despite being very tired and in a lot of pain, and despite having to use any scrap paper she could find (because paper was very rare and expensive back then), she managed to fold 1000 cranes. It was an amazing achievement. She made her wish: to get well, and also for her parents to have more money, as they were quite poor.
Sadako then started to try and fold another 1000 cranes. Sadly, she only managed to fold around 600 more cranes before she died. It was 25th October 1955. On the day of the funeral, each of her classmates put a paper crane that they had folded into her coffin.
Sadako’s friends wanted to make sure that Sadako was remembered. They started collecting money to build a statue of her, including by writing to school head teachers asking them for a donation. Some newspapers spread the word across the whole of Japan, which led to lots more people giving money towards the statue. In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a life-size golden crane, was built in Hiroshima Peace Park. It is called the Children’s Peace Monument. At the bottom of the statue there is a plaque that says: ‘This is our cry, this is our prayer, peace in the world.’
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"Inscription" beneath the child statue of the atomic bomb (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park / Nakajima cho Naka-ku Hiroshima prefecture) |
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The Children's Peace Monument, with a figure of Sadako Sasaki at the top of the statue, and a boy and a girl at the sides. The glass cases in the background contain paper cranes |
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| Sadako's statue |
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| Bell under Children's Peace Monument |
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| Sadako Sasaki Peace Child (Daryl Smith, 1990), Seattle Peace Park, |
The peace cranes can’t give Sadako her life back, but each of us can think of one thing we can do to make our family, friends, school or the world a bit more peaceful. What would your wish be? Write it on a piece of paper you have on your desk and watch the video to learn how to make your own paper cranes and make a beautiful school display.
VIDEO TUTORIAL TO MAKE YOUR OWN PAPER CRANE
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