Sadako Sasaki Biography

Sadako Sasaki was born on January 7, 1943 and died on October 25, 1955.  She was only two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945.  Sadako's home was about one mile away from ground zero at the time of the bombing.  She was a victim of the bomb, but did not know it until 1955 when she learned that she had leukemia. 

Sadako was a girl with a lot of energy and zeal for life.  She especially enjoyed participating on the relay team for her school.  This may be why she never told anyone of the dizzy spells she was experiencing.  Perhaps she feared that she would no longer be able to participate on the relay team if she told. 

By November of 1954, Sadako had chicken pox on her neck and behind her ears.  In January of 1955, there were purple spots showing up on her legs.  Finally her dizzy spells caught up to her when she collapsed on her school playground.  She was taken to the hospital on February 21, 1955, where a series of tests were administered.  She was diagnosed with leukemia due to the radiation from the atomic bomb.  The doctors expected her to live for a year at the most.

Sadako's best friend, Chizuko Hamamota, came to visit Sadako at the hospital and cut a golden paper into a square, and then she made a paper crane out of the golden paper.  Sadako did not understand why she was doing it, but Chizuko related the legend about the paper cranes to Sadako.  She told her the story of how if you could fold 1,000 cranes, you would be granted a wish.  She began folding them herself, and her brother helped her hang them in her hospital room.  It is said that she actually had time to fold more cranes than she managed to fold by her death, but there was a lack of paper, so Sadako would use medicine wrappings and other paper that she could scrounge up in order to help her meet the goal of 1,000 cranes.  She never made the goal, and died with 644 cranes made. 

During her stay in the hospital, Sadako met a young boy named Kenji, who was in the later stages of leukemia.  He too had been affected by the radiation, even though he had not been born yet.  His mother, who was pregnant with him, had been exposed to the radiation.  She had already died, leaving Kenji a lonely orphan in the hospital.  Sadako tried to give Kenji comfort and hope with the story of the paper cranes, but Kenji had already faced reality.  He knew that it was too late for him.  He was a smart young boy and read his blood charts and realized that his time was soon.  He was correct, and he died.  Sadako mourned his loss and this made her realize that her time was very short too. 

At one point, Sadako was feeling better, and so her family took her home for one last time.  She soon had to return to the hospital.  Her mother made her a kimono, because she felt every young Japanese girl should have one.  Unfortunately, Sadako's condition continued to worsen, and by mid-October, her left leg had turned purple and become swollen.  Her family begged her to eat.  She ate tea on rice.  "It's good," were her last words, and she died on October 25, 1955 with her family surrounding her.  644 cranes had been made, and her classmates finished the remaining cranes so that 1,000 cranes could be buried with her. 

Following Sadako's death, her schoolmates and her friends published some letters in order to create a memorial for her and all of the children who had passed away as a result of the atomic bomb.  Today there is a monument of Sadako Sasaki in Hiroshima Peace Park.  It is a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane.  The foot of the statue has a plaque.  The plaque states, "This is our cry.  This is our prayer.  Peace in the world."  There is additionally a statue of her located in the Seattle Peace Park.  In the years since her death, Sadako Sasaki has become a symbol of the effects of nuclear war.  It our hope to maintain world peace.  Sadako was a two year old child when the bomb was dropped.  She was an innocent person.  We need to remember her.  Today she is a heroine for many Japanese girls.  People in Japan now celebrate August 6 as their peace day every year. 

I highly recommend that you read the book, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, if you are interested in the life of Sadako.  It is an excellent book for children to read, especially if the children are learning about World War II.  Often we learn about wars and we memorize the dates and important battles, even the number of people who perish.  We do not often get to know the personal side of a war and the personal tragedy involved.  This story of Sadako Sasaki and her short life will go straight to your heart.

For your information...

A nuclear weapon, or atomic bomb, is a device that is explosive and gets its massive force from nuclear reactions.  Vast quantities of energy are released from only a small amount of matter.  Therefore, even a small nuclear device has the power to devastate a whole city through the blast, the fire, and the radiation.  Nuclear weapons are considered to be weapons of mass destruction.  There have only been two nuclear weapons detonated offensively, and both were released by the United States of American near the conclusion of World War II.  The first atomic bomb was detonated on August 6, 1945, over Hiroshima, Japan.  The second one was detonated on August 9 on Nagasaki, Japan.  The bombings led to 120,000 immediate deaths, due to the explosion and radiation sickness.  However, there were many more deaths later on due to ionizing radiation, such as with Sadako Sasaki.