When I was in elementary school, I read a story about a young Japanese girl. Sadako Sasaki was two years old when “Little Boy,” the first atomic bomb, was dropped on Hiroshima about 1 mile from her house. When she was 14 years old, she came down with a case of the chicken pox that didn’t heal, and several months later, she was diagnosed with cancer. It was very common for atomic bomb survivors to not experience any problems until years, sometimes decades, after the bombing.
There is a legend in Japan that if you make “senbazuru,” or 1000 paper cranes, that you will be granted a wish. So, everyday in the hospital Sasaki made cranes so that she could wish to be cured.
Tragically, Sasaki died before she could make all 1000 cranes. But, her school mates all pitched in after her death to complete her work.
Today, at the Hiroshima peace memorial, there is a spot dedicated to Sasaki and all the children lost to the atomic bomb. It’s common to see stands of 1000 cranes all around this memorial site with one common wish: world peace.
Last spring, I put my hands to good work and, with the help of several classmates, was able to hang up my own strand of paper cranes as a gift from the international students of Kansai Gaidai University in Japan. It was one of my proudest moments when I got to show an atomic bomb survivor our handiwork. She was very happy such a gift came from American students.
