Sadako Sasaki was 2 years old when the United States dropped an atom bomb on her home city of Hiroshima, Japan in an attempt to end World War II. Sadako survived the explosion without any injuries. But at age 11, Sadako learned that she had leukemia, a form of cancer caused by radiation, that many people called the ‘atom bomb disease’. While Sadako was hospitalized, her friend, Chizuko, brought her origami paper and encouraged her to fold them into cranes. Chizuko told Sadako the legend that if she folded one thousand paper cranes, the gods would heal her. Optimistically, Sadako began folding cranes and continued as she grew more weak and sick. She never gave up hope for her recovery. At age 12, Sadako passed away. Years later, a monument was built in her memory in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. It helps spread Sadako’s story of the lingering effects of wartime violence, especially on innocent victims, and portrays hope and peace throughout the world.
(Hiroshima, Japan: 1955)