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Sadako Sasaki

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File:Sadako Sasaki 2008 01.JPG
Statue in memory of Sadako Sasaki

Sadako Sasaki (佐々木 禎子, Sasaki Sadako, January 7, 1943 – October 25, 1955) 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, and is to this day a symbol of innocent victims of war.

Overview

Sadako was at home when the explosion occurred, about one mile from Ground Zero. 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").[1] She was hospitalized on February 21, 1955, and given, at the most, a year to live.

Several years after the atomic bomb, an increase in leukemia was observed especially among children. By the early 1950s it was clear that the leukemia was caused by radiation exposure.[2]

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.[citation needed]

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 crane was unveiled in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. At the foot of the statue is a plaque that 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 nuclear war. Sadako is also a heroine for many girls in Japan. Her story is told in some Japanese schools on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. Dedicated to her, people all over Japan celebrate August 6 as the annual peace day.

The Day of the Bomb (1961, in German, Sadako will leben) by the Austrian writer Karl Bruckner and Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, first published in 1977.[3] 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 Dagestani 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.

Evolving Pictures is set to produce a motion picture tentatively entitled Sadako: the Magic of Paper Cranes. This story, inspired by true events and written by Malcom Clarke, chronicles the events of a group of fifth graders who, when inspired by their teacher, make their dream of building a monument come true, to honor the legend and spirit of the young girl Sadako.

A related story is associated with All Souls Church, Unitarian of Washington, DC in which the children of the church sent school supplies to the Honkawa Elementary School as a gesture of compassion and reconciliation, and in requite, the Japanese students sent back a portfolio of curatorially and historically significant crayon, pencil, charcoal and watercolor drawings and paintings. In the evolving development of the story the Unitarian Universalist Association published a version of the story. A documentary film is also being produced. At the time of this writing, the Hiroshima Children's Drawings Committee at All Souls Church is in development of curriculum for both children's education and Adult Spiritual Development.

The story of Sadako has been, and continues to be, utilized as an educational instrument by teachers in schools worldwide.

See also

References

  1. ^ Sasaki Fujiko. "Come back to me again, Sadako".
  2. ^ Radiation Effects Research Foundation (former Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission) "Leukemia risks among atomic-bomb survivors" Accessed 2011-10-30
  3. ^ Coerr, Eleanor (1977, then republished 2004). Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Puffin Books. p. 80. ISBN 0142401137. {{cite book}}: Check |authorlink= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |authorlink= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

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