Sadako Sasaki (1943-1955) was a young girl who lived through the bombing of Hiroshima, remembered for her dedication to folding one thousand origami cranes.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know -- but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Leading Ladies, Activists, STEMinists, Local Legends, and many more. Encyclopedia Womannica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Encyclopedia Womannica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Cinthia Pimentel, Grace Lynch, and Maddy Foley. Special thanks to Shira Atkins, Edie Allard, and Carmen Borca-Carrillo.
We are offering free ad space on Wonder Media Network shows to organizations working towards social justice. For more information, please email Jenny at jenny@wondermedianetwork.com.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
As a young girl, today’s Local Legend was diagnosed with leukemia, a consequence of the US atomic bomb on Hiroshima, making news around the world. Her image has been used by many different organizations in the years since her death, but one part of her story stands out: her dedication to folding one thousand origami cranes. Let’s talk about Sadako Sasaki.
Sadako was born on January 7, 1943. She was two years old on August 6th, 1945, when a B-29 bomber flew overhead and dropped the atomic bomb on her home city of Hiroshima, Japan. The Sasakis lived just a mile away from the epicenter of the damage. Sadako’s mother was able to escape the flames with Sadako and her brother.
As the three fled, they ran through sheets of black rain, the radioactive fallout from the bomb. Years later, doctors would trace Sadako’s leukemia back to these droplets.
Sadako, her brother, and their parents moved in with relatives outside the city. Sadako’s grandmother died in the bombing.
The next few years were difficult in Hiroshima. Fires had burned down nearly everything within a two-kilometer radius of the bomb site—food was scarce, finances were tight, and people were sick. All around, entire neighborhoods mourned those lost in the aftermath of the bomb.
Slowly, life returned to a semblance of normal. The Sasakis opened up a small barber shop in 1947, and Sadako enrolled in elementary school. She was warm and outgoing, and quickly surrounded herself with a large circle of friends. She was a natural athlete — on a school trip to nearby Miyajima island, Sasaki was the first to the peak of Mount Misen — and the first back down for lunch.
She was happy and healthy, so when she came down with a cold in November of 1954, no one expected her diagnosis: leukemia. At the time, it was also known as a-bomb disease. At twelve years old, she began her stay at the hospital.
There, Sadako kept others’ spirits high. She often walked into other wards to make friends, and entertained those who came to visit her. She was there for months — her father accepted her elementary school diploma on Sadako’s behalf. Her school friends visited and talked to her about registering for seventh grade.
One day, the Red Cross Youth Club visited the hospital and gave all the children staying there origami cranes. The gift was a symbol of Japanese folklore meant to help the sick regain health. Legends said cranes could live for a thousand years, and any person who folded an origami crane for each year of that life would have one wish granted.
Sadako, who had to spend long hours in bed due to worsening health, determinedly set out to accomplish this goal: she was going to fold a thousand origami cranes.
This wasn’t an easy feat. In the post-war world, paper was expensive. So, Sadako set out to find paper wherever she could find it — she took scraps of medicine wrappers, and asked other patients for the packaging their get well gifts came in. She folded cranes of all shapes, colors and sizes — some were as small as a grain of rice.
Within a month, Sadako folded her thousandth crane. Unfortunately, on October 25, 1955, Sadako passed away. She was surrounded by family and 1,300 origami cranes.
When she died, Sadako could not have imagined the impact she’d have on the world. After her death, her image became a rallying cry for movements around the world. International news retold her story as a tragedy of war, while others publicized her experiences as evidence in opposition to the development of nuclear weapons. Sadako’s story of the cranes has spawned several books and films.
Sadako also had a profound impact closer to home, on her classmates. When they graduated from sixth grade, they formed what they called the unity club. Initially, it was meant to make sure Sadako always had a friend in her hospital room. After Sadako’s death, they organized to create something lasting in their classmate’s memory.
After much work volunteering and handing out leaflets, the unity club joined with schools across the city to form the Hiroshima Society of School Children for Building World Peace. With a joint fundraising campaign, they were able to fund the creation of a statue to commemorate the children affected by the atomic bomb.
The statue, called Atomic Bomb Children, was unveiled on May 5th, 1958, on Japan’s Children’s Day holiday. It stands in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, an area dedicated to memorializing the bombing.
Sadako stands at the top of the statue, holding a large paper crane over her head. A plaque at the bottom reads, “This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.” To this day, visitors come to fold and leave paper cranes at the statue.
All month, we’re talking about Local Legends. For more on why we’re doing what we’re doing, check out our newsletter, Womannica Weekly. Find us on facebook and instagram @encyclopediawomannica. You can also find me on twitter @ jennymkaplan.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.