Sadako and the thousand paper cranes
Sadako and the thousand paper cranes: read about her life and the wish for recovery. The meaning of 1000 cranes. Peace memorial and crane-folding lesson.
A thousand paper cranes are associated with a wish for recovery. Through Sadako Sasaki’s story, folded cranes also became messengers of peace.
A thousand cranes
Senbazuru literally means “thousand cranes.” Sadako heard the belief that folding a thousand cranes could bring her wish true, and folded them hoping to recover from illness.
Sadako Sasaki
Sadako was two when the atomic bomb struck Hiroshima in 1945. She was admitted to hospital with leukemia in February 1955 and folded cranes from wrapping paper and other scraps she could find. She died on 25 October 1955, aged twelve.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum says she folded more than a thousand cranes. The often-repeated number 643 comes from a film, rather than the museum’s account of her life.
The Children’s Peace Monument
After her death, Sadako’s classmates campaigned for a monument to the children who died because of the atomic bombing. Donations helped build the Children’s Peace Monument, completed in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park on 5 May 1958. People continue to offer cranes there as wishes for peace.