Photo: 01 July 2007 Posted: 26 October 2009
Traveling is not all about sunshine and beaches. There are some places that you go that will touch you with a deep sense of sadness, but at the same time fill you with enduring optimism and hope. Hiroshima is one of those places.
If you look closely at this photo, through the arch you see a glimpse of Hiroshima's most recognizable monument - known as the "atomic dome" - it was one of the only buildings that was left partly standing in 1945 when the rest of the city was almost entirely flat. Today it forms a poignant reminder as part of the Peace park.
1000 Paper Cranes - the story of Sadako
The paper crane has become a symbol of peace in Hiroshima and around the world. If you visit, you'll often see strings of folded paper cranes in parks and public places.
The reason for the cranes comes from one of the many victims of the bombings - in this case a girl, Sadako Sasaki who was two at the time of the blast, and later developed Luekemia. While she was in hospital at age 12 a friend came to visit and taught her to fold a paper crane - based on a Japanese legend which says that whoever folds 1000 paper cranes will be given a wish by a crane.
The Wikipedia entry tells the story far better than I would be able to. I repeat the relevant extract because I think its is a story worth reading and remembering:
Sadako Sasaki (佐々木 禎子, Sasaki Sadako?, January 7, 1943 – October 25, 1955) was a Japanese girl who lived near Misasa Bridge in Hiroshima, Japan when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Sadako was only two years old on August 6, 1945 when she became a victim of the atomic bomb.
At the time of the explosion Sadako was at home, about 1 mile from ground zero. By November 1954, chicken pox had developed on her neck and behind her ears. Then in January 1955, purple spots had started to form on her legs. Subsequently, she was diagnosed with leukemia, which her mother referred to as "an atom bomb disease."[1] She was hospitalized on February 21, 1955 and given, at the most, a year to live.
On August 3, 1955, Chizuko Hamamoto — Sadako's best friend — came to the hospital to visit and cut a golden piece of paper into a square and folded it into a paper crane. At first Sadako didn't understand why Chizuko was doing this but then Chizuko retold the story about the paper cranes. Inspired by the crane, she started folding them herself, spurred on by the Japanese saying that one who folded 1,000 cranes was granted a wish. A popular version of the story is that she fell short of her goal of folding 1,000 cranes, having folded only 644 before her death, and that her friends completed the 1,000 and buried them all with her. This comes from the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. An exhibit which appeared in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum stated that by the end of August, 1955, Sadako had achieved her goal and continued to fold more cranes.
Though she had plenty of free time during her days in the hospital to fold the cranes, she lacked paper. She would use medicine wrappings and whatever else she could scrounge up. This included going to other patients' rooms to ask to use the paper from their get-well presents. Chizuko would bring paper from school for Sadako to use.
During her time in hospital her condition progressively worsened. Around mid-October her left leg became swollen and turned purple. After her family urged her to eat something, Sadako requested tea on rice and remarked "It's good." Those were her last words. With her family around her, Sadako died on the morning of October 25, 1955.
From Tragedy comes Hope
While thinking about many of the things I saw in Hiroshima still fills me with sorrow, the striking thing is really the recovery and renewed beauty in the city. It was first thought that nothing would grow in the city for at least 75 years. The Oleander was the first flower to blossom from the scorched earth. It gave the residents hope and inspired renewal and rebuilding. That sense of hope can still be seen in the city today, and nowhere more so than in the Hiroshima Peace Park.
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