The is a monument for peace to commemorate

Sadako Sasaki was a Japanese girl who became a victim of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. She was two years of age when the bombs were dropped and was severely irradiated. She survived for another ten years, becoming one o ...

and the thousands of child victims of the

atomic bombing of Hiroshima The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

. This monument is located in

Hiroshima, Japan is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama Prefecture to the ...

. Sadako Sasaki, a young girl, died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

from radiation of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945.

Overview

Paper cranes hanging outside of the Children's Peace Monument

The monument is located in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in

. Designed by native artists Kazuo Kikuchi and Kiyoshi Ikebe, the monument was built using money derived from a fund-raising campaign by Japanese school children, including Sadako Sasaki's classmates, with the main statue entitled "''Atomic Bomb Children''". The statue was unveiled on 5 May 1958, the Japanese

Children's Day Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honor of children, whose date of observance varies by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...

holiday. Sadako Sasaki, who died of an atomic bomb disease radiation poisoning is immortalized at the top of the statue, where she holds a wire crane above her head. Shortly before she passed, she had a vision to create a

thousand cranes is a novel by Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata which first appeared in serialised form between 1949 and 1951 and was published as a book in 1952. Plot The novel consists of five chapters, titled "Thousand Cranes", "The Grove in the Evening Sun" ...

. Japanese tradition says that if one creates a thousand cranes, they are granted one wish. Sadako's wish was to have a world without nuclear weapons. Thousands of origami cranes from all over the world are offered around the monument. They serve as a sign that the children who make them and those who visit the statue desire a world without

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear wa ...

, having been tied to the statue by the story that Sadako died from radiation-induced leukemia after folding just under a thousand cranes, wishing for

world peace World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Planet Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would ...

. However, an exhibit which appeared in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum stated that by the end of August 1955, Sadako had achieved her 1000-crane goal and continued to fold more cranes. Unfortunately, her wish was not granted and she died of the leukemia on October 25, 1955. Her main reason of death was from the radiation poisoning from the atomic bomb

Little Boy "Little Boy" was the type of atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 during World War II, making it the first nuclear weapon used in warfare. The bomb was dropped by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress ''Enola Gay'' p ...

Monument

Beneath the main structure hangs a bronze crane that works as a wind chime when pushed against a traditional peace bell from which it is suspended. The two pieces were donated by

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner,

Hideki Yukawa was a Japanese theoretical physicist and the first Japanese Nobel laureate for his prediction of the pi meson, or pion. Biography He was born as Hideki Ogawa in Tokyo and grew up in Kyoto with two older brothers, two older sisters, and two yo ...

. At the base of the monument is a black marble slab on which is inscribed in Japanese: The figures that surround the monument are angels, representing that Sadako is in heaven among the other fallen angels who died during the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. Today, people all around the world have the opportunity to donate cranes that they have folded in honor of Sadako and the others. The paper crane is a symbol of peace, which was her last dying wish.

References

* {{cite web, last1=Ministries, first1=Global, title=Global Ministries, url=http://www.globalministries.org/resources/youth-and-children/fold-paper-cranes-for-peace.html, website=Global Ministries - Fold Paper Cranes in Honor of Sadako, accessdate=13 April 2015, archive-date=4 March 2016, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025435/http://www.globalministries.org/resources/youth-and-children/fold-paper-cranes-for-peace.html, url-status=dead * https://web.archive.org/web/20160512231455/http://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/www/contents/1110438305305/index.html

External links

The Children's Peace Monument
Monuments and memorials concerning the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Monuments and memorials in Japan Peace monuments and memorials Tourist attractions in Hiroshima Buildings and structures in Hiroshima 1958 establishments in Japan

Overview

Monument

See also

References

External links