Sadako Sasaki

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Sadako Sasaki and the thousand paper cranes
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Sadako was a Japanese girl born during World War
II, in Hiroshima, Japan. When the atomic bomb was
dropped on Hiroshima, Sadako was only two years
old.
She and her parents were some of the few who
survived the blast. They continued to live in
Hiroshima after the war ended, but never forgot
the many friends and family they lost in the war.
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As a young girl, Sadako loved to run and play
with her friends. She was a very fast runner.
When she was in grade 6, she started to have
dizzy spells, and one day was sick at school.
The doctors discovered that she had developed
leukemia, a type of cancer that was caused by
the effects of the atomic bomb.
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Sadako was very sick, and had to spend a lot of
time in the hospital. The doctors feared that
she did not have much time left to live.
Chizuko Hamamoto , Sadako's best friend, came to
the hospital to visit one day. She cut a golden
piece of paper into a square and folded it into a
paper crane. At first Sadako didn't
understand why Chizuko was doing this, but then
Chizuko told her the story about the paper cranes.
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An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone
who folds a thousand origami cranes will be
granted a wish by a crane. Sadako wished that
she would get better, and that there would be
peace in the world.
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Sadako immediately set out to fold one thousand
paper cranes in order that her wish would come
true.
Though she had plenty of free time during her
days in the hospital to fold the cranes, she
lacked paper. She used medicine wrappings and
whatever else she was able to scrounge.
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She continued to fold as many cranes as she
could, but her condition progressively worsened.
With her family around her, Sadako died on the
morning of October 25, 1955.
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For nearly a year, Sadako folded cranes and
remained optimistic that her wish to get well,
and her wish for peace would be answered. Sadako
folded 644 cranes before she passed away.
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After Sadakos passed away, her friends finished
folding the remaining 356 cranes and the paper
birds were buried with her. Her friends made a
book of her letters and, soon Sadakos story was
known throughout Japan. In 1958 Sadakos
monument was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace
Park. Sadako holds a golden crane with
outstretched hands.
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Sadakos friends also started a crane folding
club to remember all the children who were killed
by the atom bombs that fell on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in August of 1945. People still place
thousands of paper cranes beneath Sadakos statue
on Peace Day.
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Childrens Peace MemorialHiroshima, Japan
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There is a wish engraved on the monument built
in Sadakos memory
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• This is our cry,
• this is our prayer
• Peace in the World

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Sadako Sasaki January 7, 1943 October 25,
1955