Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Hiroshima, Japan

One of my goals in visiting Vietnam was to learn about the war from their perspective and after hearing the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, I felt it was equally important to learn about World War II from the Japanese perspective. One of the Resident Directors, along with the ship’s librarian, proposed that we as a shipboard community make 1000 paper cranes in honor of Sadako and her mission of peace. For those of you unfamiliar with Sadako’s story, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is the true story is of a girl, Sadako Sasaki, who lived in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing by the United States. She developed leukemia from the radiation and spent her time in a nursing home creating origami cranes in hope of making a thousand of them. She was inspired to do so by the Japanese legend that says that one who created a thousand origami cranes would then be granted a wish. Her wish was simply to live. However, she managed to fold only 644 cranes before she became too weak to fold any more, and died on 25th of October 1955. Her friends and family helped finish her dream by folding the rest of the cranes, which were buried with Sadako. I hadn’t heard of the story until shortly before we arrived in Japan, but after learning how to fold a paper crane (it only took me 45 minutes on my first try) and hearing the story, I felt compelled to just keep folding. My two dear friends and I went to Hiroshima during our time in Japan to learn more about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and to help these cranes find their way home. The Hiroshima Museum was incredibly impactful and something I think every American should see if they are in Japan. There were times when it was hard to look, but even at times that I turned away from images I didn’t want to see, I consciously reminded myself that it was incredibly important for me to see these things, no matter how difficult it was. This is as much a part of my history as an American as it is of the people of Japan. After visiting the museum, we visited the Children’s Peace Memorial where we dropped off the cranes. There were over a dozen glass cases housing cranes that had been brought to Hiroshima from classrooms, church groups, families, and individuals from all over the world. Many of them had notes in other languages, no doubt wishing for world peace much as Sadako had done 60 years before. We hung the cranes that our shipboard community had made, somehow trying to take in everything we’d seen that day. Although, we didn’t quite reach 1000, we estimate that we folded over 600, one for every student on board.

In making our way back to the train station, winding through the city, I couldn’t help but be surprised that Hiroshima was as big as it is. I expected it to be this shell of a city, centered around the memorial, with only tales of its horrific past to offer to the outside world. But I was wrong. It is a large city, bustling with school children, families, and the goings on of everyday life, just like I’d seen in other Japanese cities I’d visited thus far. I was actually very pleasantly surprised to learn this about Hiroshima. In a way, it reminded me of New York City and the area surrounding the World Trade Center site. They built a space where members of their community and people from all over the world can come reflect, remember, and learn about the past. Even though time stopped on that tragic day, they rebuilt and are now stronger than before. This horrific thing happened here, but it doesn’t define them as a community.