"If you fold a thousand cranes, your fondest wish will come true . . ." Japanese Proverb

 

The Effect of War

Sadako Sakashi

Sadako's Supplies

Sadako's Legacy

Sadako's Shrine

Peace Day in Japan

Quote by a Japanese Student

Origami Peace Cranes Web Site

Letter From Sadako's Mother
 
 

Sadako was only two years old when the A-Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.  She was exposed to black rain (radiation) as a result.

• Sadako was almost twelve when she was diagnosed with leukemia, the A-Bomb disease.  She refused to take the painkilling drugs suggested by her doctor.  Instead she put her faith in the old Japanese proverb . . .  A friend showed her how to fold her first crane from a piece of gold foil.

Her parents did not want to encourage her faith in origami; so they did not give her any special papers. Sadako folded cranes from common pieces of paper, like gum and candy wrappers, and medicine labels.

 

• On October 24, 1955, 10 months after she first became ill, Sadako died.  She had folded 645 cranes.  Her classmates folded the remaining 355 cranes.  They were placed in her coffin.

Three years after her death, a memorial for Sadako was placed in Hiroshima Peace Park.

 

Students at Minford High School sent one thousand cranes to Hiroshima Peace Park to celebrate their Peace Day on August 6, 1992.