Sadako Sasaki
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese
girl who was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped
on August 6, 1945, near her home by Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima
, Japan
. Sadako is remembered through the story of attempting to fold a thousand origami cranes
before her death, a wish which was memorialized in popular culture
.
. In November 1954, Sadako developed swellings on her neck and behind her ears. In January 1955, purple spots had formed on her legs. Subsequently, she was diagnosed with leukemia
(her mother referred to it as "an atom bomb disease"). She was hospitalized on February 21, 1955, and given, at the most, a year to live.
Several years after the A-bomb, increase in leukemia cases were observed specially among children, in the early 1950s it was clear that leukemia was after effect of radiation exposure.
On August 3, 1955, Sadako's best friend Chizuko Hamamoto came to the hospital to visit, and cut a golden piece of paper into a square to fold it into a paper crane, in reference to the ancient Japanese story that promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes
will be granted a wish by the Gods. A popular version of the story is that Sadako fell short of her goal of folding 1,000 cranes, having folded only 644 before her death, and that her friends completed the 1,000 and buried them all with her. This comes from the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
. An exhibit which appeared in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
stated that by the end of August, 1955, Sadako had achieved her goal and continued to fold more cranes.
Though she had plenty of free time during her days in the hospital to fold the cranes, she lacked paper. She would use medicine wrappings and whatever else she could scrounge up. This included going to other patients' rooms to ask to use the paper from their get-well presents. Chizuko would bring paper from school for Sadako to use.
During her time in the hospital her condition progressively worsened. Around mid-October her left leg became swollen and turned purple. After her family urged her to eat something, Sadako requested tea on rice and remarked "It's good." Those were her last words. With her family around her, Sadako died on the morning of October 25, 1955 at the age of 12.
was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
, also called the Genbaku Dome. At the foot of the statue is a plaque that reads:
There is also a statue of her in the Seattle Peace Park
. Sadako has become a leading symbol of the impact of nuclear war. Sadako is also a heroine for many girls in Japan. Her story is told in some Japan
ese schools on the anniversary of the Hiroshima
bombing. Dedicated to her, people all over Japan celebrate August 6 as the annual peace
day.
(1961, in German, Sadako will leben) by the Austria
n 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 1993 the animation studio Mushi Production
produced Tsuru ni Notte - Tomoko no Boken (On a Paper Crane - Tomoko's Adventure), a half-hour anime
theatrical feature directed by Seiji Arihara in which a sixth-grade schoolgirl named Tomoko (voiced by Sailor Moon
voice actress Kotono Mitsuishi
) encounters Sadako's spirit during a visit to the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. The film has also been dubbed and released in English and French.
In 1969, the Dagestan
i national poet Rasul Gamzatov
may have been inspired by Sadako's story to write his most famous poem, "Zhuravli
". (Gamzatov may, however, have taken his inspiration from Soviet soldiers who died in the battle for Stalingrad. Associating cranes with World War II
victims already appears, for example, in 1957 the Soviet movie Letyat Zhuravli.)
The jazz fusion
band Hiroshima
wrote a song called "Thousand Cranes" inspired by Sadako's story and as a tribute to the band's namesake city. Toward the end of the song, children's laughter can be heard. Another song inspired by Sadako's story is Fred Small
's "Cranes Over Hiroshima". Japanese instrumental band Mono
also created a song inspired by Sadako's story titled, "A Thousand Paper Cranes." Another song inspired by her story is "Cranes" written by Quelle. Thomas Harris, the author of The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal incorporated Sadako's story into the conversation between Hannibal Lecter and Lady Murasaki in Hannibal Rising, when Lady Murasaki asked Hannibal to help fold paper cranes for Sadako.
Today, over 9 metric tonnes of paper cranes are delivered to Hiroshima annually. They are displayed in the Hiroshima Carp baseball stadium as a reminder to the world.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
girl who was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
on August 6, 1945, near her home by Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Sadako is remembered through the story of attempting to fold a thousand origami cranes
Thousand origami cranes
is a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings.An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury...
before her death, a wish which was memorialized in popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
.
Overview
Sadako was at home when the explosion occurred, about one mile from Ground ZeroGround zero
The term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
. In November 1954, Sadako developed swellings on her neck and behind her ears. In January 1955, purple spots had formed on her legs. Subsequently, she was diagnosed with leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
(her mother referred to it as "an atom bomb disease"). She was hospitalized on February 21, 1955, and given, at the most, a year to live.
Several years after the A-bomb, increase in leukemia cases were observed specially among children, in the early 1950s it was clear that leukemia was after effect of radiation exposure.
On August 3, 1955, Sadako's best friend Chizuko Hamamoto came to the hospital to visit, and cut a golden piece of paper into a square to fold it into a paper crane, in reference to the ancient Japanese story that promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes
Thousand origami cranes
is a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings.An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury...
will be granted a wish by the Gods. A popular version of the story is that Sadako fell short of her goal of folding 1,000 cranes, having folded only 644 before her death, and that her friends completed the 1,000 and buried them all with her. This comes from the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a non-fiction children's book written by American author Eleanor Coerr and published in 1977.This true story is of a girl, Sadako Sasaki, who lived in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing by the United States...
. An exhibit which appeared in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, in central Hiroshima, Japan.It was established in August 1955 with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Hall ....
stated that by the end of August, 1955, Sadako had achieved her goal and continued to fold more cranes.
Though she had plenty of free time during her days in the hospital to fold the cranes, she lacked paper. She would use medicine wrappings and whatever else she could scrounge up. This included going to other patients' rooms to ask to use the paper from their get-well presents. Chizuko would bring paper from school for Sadako to use.
During her time in the hospital her condition progressively worsened. Around mid-October her left leg became swollen and turned purple. After her family urged her to eat something, Sadako requested tea on rice and remarked "It's good." Those were her last words. With her family around her, Sadako died on the morning of October 25, 1955 at the age of 12.
Memorial
After her death, Sadako's friends and schoolmates published a collection of letters in order to raise funds to build a memorial to her and all of the children who had died from the effects of the atomic bomb. In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a golden craneChildren's Peace Monument
The is a monument for peace to commemorate Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of child victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima-Overview:The monument is located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, itself in the city of Hiroshima...
was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Hiroshima Peace Memorial, commonly called the Atomic Bomb Dome or , in Hiroshima, Japan, is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The ruin serves as a memorial to the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6,...
, also called the Genbaku Dome. At the foot of the statue is a plaque that reads:
There is also a statue of her in the Seattle Peace Park
Peace Park (Seattle)
Peace Park is a park located in the University District of Seattle, Washington, at the corner of N.E. 40th Street and Roosevelt Way N.E. at the northern end of the University Bridge...
. Sadako has become a leading symbol of the impact of nuclear war. Sadako is also a heroine for many girls in Japan. Her story is told in some Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese schools on the anniversary of the Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
bombing. Dedicated to her, people all over Japan celebrate August 6 as the annual peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
day.
In popular culture
The Day of the BombThe Day of the Bomb
The Day of the Bomb is a non-fiction book written by the Austrian author Karl Bruckner in 1961....
(1961, in German, Sadako will leben) by the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n writer Karl Bruckner
Karl Bruckner
Karl Bruckner, was an Austrian children's writer.Committed to peace, international understanding, and social justice, he became one of Austria's leading writers for young people.-Life:...
and Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a non-fiction children's book written by American author Eleanor Coerr and published in 1977.This true story is of a girl, Sadako Sasaki, who lived in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing by the United States...
by Eleanor Coerr
Eleanor Coerr
Eleanor Coerr was a Canadian-born American writer of children's books, including Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes....
, first published in 1977. Sadako is also briefly mentioned in Children of the Ashes, Robert Jungk
Robert Jungk
Robert Jungk , also known as Robert Baum and Robert Baum-Jungk, was an Austrian writer and journalist who wrote mostly on issues relating to nuclear weapons....
's historical account of the lives of Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
victims and survivors. Her story continues to inspire millions to hope for lasting peace in the world.
In 1993 the animation studio Mushi Production
Mushi Production
Mushi Production , or Mushi Pro for short, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan....
produced Tsuru ni Notte - Tomoko no Boken (On a Paper Crane - Tomoko's Adventure), a half-hour anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
theatrical feature directed by Seiji Arihara in which a sixth-grade schoolgirl named Tomoko (voiced by Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
voice actress Kotono Mitsuishi
Kotono Mitsuishi
is a prolific Japanese voice actor from Tokyo. As a young girl, Mitsuishi lived in Nagareyama, Chiba. Mitsuishi graduated from high school in 1986, and entered the Katsuta Voice Actor's Academy. While attending the academy, she began working part time as an elevator girl in the Sunshine 60 building...
) encounters Sadako's spirit during a visit to the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. The film has also been dubbed and released in English and French.
In 1969, the Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
i national poet Rasul Gamzatov
Rasul Gamzatov
Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov was probably the most famous poet writing in the Avar language. Among his poems was Zhuravli, which became a well-known Soviet song....
may have been inspired by Sadako's story to write his most famous poem, "Zhuravli
Zhuravli
Zhuravli , composed in 1968, is one of the most famous Russian songs about World War II.The Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov, when visiting Hiroshima, was impressed by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the monument to Sadako Sasaki...
". (Gamzatov may, however, have taken his inspiration from Soviet soldiers who died in the battle for Stalingrad. Associating cranes with World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
victims already appears, for example, in 1957 the Soviet movie Letyat Zhuravli.)
The jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
band Hiroshima
Hiroshima (band)
Hiroshima is an American jazz fusion/smooth jazz band formed in 1974 by Sansei Japanese American Dan Kuramoto , Peter Hata , June Kuramoto , Johnny Mori , Dave Iwataki and Danny Yamamoto...
wrote a song called "Thousand Cranes" inspired by Sadako's story and as a tribute to the band's namesake city. Toward the end of the song, children's laughter can be heard. Another song inspired by Sadako's story is Fred Small
Fred Small
Frederick Emerson Small , known publicly as Fred Small, is an American singer-songwriter. He is also a lawyer and a Unitarian Universalist minister. His songs often make a political or ethical statement. Among his best-known songs are "Heart of the Appaloosa," "Everything Possible," "Peace Is",...
's "Cranes Over Hiroshima". Japanese instrumental band Mono
Mono (Japanese band)
Mono are a Japanese post rock band, formed in 1999 in Tokyo, Kantō, Honshū. The band consists of Takaakira Goto , Yoda , Tamaki Kunishi , and Yasunori Takada .Mono have released five studio albums...
also created a song inspired by Sadako's story titled, "A Thousand Paper Cranes." Another song inspired by her story is "Cranes" written by Quelle. Thomas Harris, the author of The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal incorporated Sadako's story into the conversation between Hannibal Lecter and Lady Murasaki in Hannibal Rising, when Lady Murasaki asked Hannibal to help fold paper cranes for Sadako.
Today, over 9 metric tonnes of paper cranes are delivered to Hiroshima annually. They are displayed in the Hiroshima Carp baseball stadium as a reminder to the world.
See also
- Children's Peace MonumentChildren's Peace MonumentThe is a monument for peace to commemorate Sadako Sasaki and the thousands of child victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima-Overview:The monument is located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, itself in the city of Hiroshima...
- Anne FrankAnne FrankAnnelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
- Thousand origami cranesThousand origami cranesis a group of one thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings.An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury...
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial ParkHiroshima Peace Memorial Parkis a memorial park in the center of Hiroshima, Japan. It is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack, and to the memories of the bomb's direct and indirect victims ....
- Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and NagasakiAtomic bombings of Hiroshima and NagasakiDuring the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
- Hiroshima WitnessHiroshima WitnessHiroshima Witness, also released as Voice of Hibakusha, is a documentary film featuring 100 interviews of people who survived the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as hibakusha. The Hiroshima Witness program was produced in 1986 by the Hiroshima Peace Cultural Center and NHK,...
- Sadako and the Thousand Paper CranesSadako and the Thousand Paper CranesSadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a non-fiction children's book written by American author Eleanor Coerr and published in 1977.This true story is of a girl, Sadako Sasaki, who lived in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing by the United States...
External links
- Sadako and the Paper Cranes — photos, a lot of various information on The Official Homepage of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
- Sadako and the Atomic Bombing - Kids Peace Station at the 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 SmallFred SmallFrederick Emerson Small , known publicly as Fred Small, is an American singer-songwriter. He is also a lawyer and a Unitarian Universalist minister. His songs often make a political or ethical statement. Among his best-known songs are "Heart of the Appaloosa," "Everything Possible," "Peace Is",...
inspired by Sadako Sasaki - Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
- Memorial Page at FindaGrave