80 Years Of Hiroshima Bombing: Remembering Sadako Sasaki And Origami Cranes

Last Updated:August 06, 2025, 14:44 IST

Sadako Sasaki, exposed to radiation at age 2 during Hiroshima’s bombing, later developed leukaemia. She folded 1,000 paper cranes, hoping for healing and world peace.

Sadako’s story inspired a monument in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

Today, August 6, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. On this day in 1945, during the final stages of World War II, the United States dropped an atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, on the Japanese city. The attack, followed by a second bombing in Nagasaki on August 9, played a pivotal role in Japan’s surrender and the end of the war.

In the midst of history’s most tragic events lie some stories that shine with grace for eternity. One such story belongs to a small girl named Sadako Sasaki. Her name is now etched in silence beneath a memorial in Hiroshima, yet her legacy continues to flutter across generations.

Who Was Sadako Sasaki?

Sadako Sasaki was just two years old when the atomic bomb devastated Hiroshima. Though she survived the blast, its effects resurfaced a decade later in the form of radiation-induced leukaemia. What followed was a quietly powerful story of resilience, hope, and a nation’s longing for peace, told through the delicate folds of a thousand paper cranes.

Sadako and her family lived a little over a mile from the bomb’s hypocenter. When Little Boy burst over Sadako’s hometown, a bright white light swept through the city, followed by a massive explosion audible miles away. Immediately, fires erupted throughout the city, and radioactive black rain began to fall. Sadako, her mother, and brother fled the fire. However, her grandmother couldn’t survive the attack.

Her father, Shigeo, was not in Hiroshima during the bombing. Shigeo was reunited with his family following the attack, while Sadako and her family returned to Hiroshima to rebuild their lives.

Aftermaths Of The Devastating Atomic Bombing

The Sasaki family, like many others living in Hiroshima after World War II, struggled with illness, financial difficulty and food scarcity. Things took a more devastating turn for the Sasaki family when Sadako was diagnosed with Leukaemia- known locally as the A-bomb disease- at the age of 12.

At the time, survival rates were extremely low. Sadako was aware of the implications of the diagnosis, yet she refused to give up.

Sadako And The Origami Cranes

During her time in the hospital, Sadako was happy when the Red Cross Youth Club presented her and the other patients with origami cranes. People believed that origami cranes may help them recover from illness.

Sadako’s father, Shigeo, was visiting her in the hospital when she asked him, “Why did they send us origami cranes, father?” To which he responded by telling her about the traditional Japanese crane mythology. According to Japanese tradition, a crane can live for a thousand years, and whoever folds an origami crane for each year of its existence would have their wish granted.

Inspired by the tale, Sadako then had a new purpose in life: to have her wish of being well again granted by folding one thousand origami cranes. She then started collecting papers to make origami cranes, and soon her room was filled with different colours and sizes of cranes.

After folding her thousandth crane, Sadako made a wish to be well again. Unfortunately, Sadako’s wish did not come true. She stayed unwell, but her belief in the origami cranes remained the same. Sadako began folding more of them in order to have her father’s debt cleared, which was her new wish. Sadako continued to fold cranes, some as little as a grain of rice, until her death.

She died at the age of twelve, with over 1,300 origami cranes hanging overhead in her room.

Sadako’s Monument For Peace

She always wanted to make the world a peaceful place for all and shared those thoughts and feelings with her friends and family.

Sadako’s determination and origami cranes inspired her friends and classmates to raise funds for a monument to Sadako and the children who died as a result of atomic blasts. Since 1958, thousands of people have visited the Sadako statue in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Sadako’s figure carries a giant paper crane aloft. A plaque at the foot of Sadako’s statue reads: “This is our scream. This is our prayer. There is peace throughout the globe.”

Sadako Sasaki lived only twelve years, but her story is as strong as a thousand cranes.

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Delhi, India, India

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