Sadako and the 1000 Paper cranes

I still remember being read the story of Sadako in year 4 at school. Our teacher read us the story and we then learned how to make origami paper cranes.

Our classroom looked so pretty with them all strung up all over the walls. That is my first first memory of Sadako, her 1000 paper cranes, atomic bombs and at that age, not fully understanding how human beings can be so awful to each other. I still don’t understand that last one.

If you have ever been to Japan, then most likely you have also been to Hiroshima – the city, the first Atomic bomb was ever dropped on the 6th August 1945. In the Memorial Peace park there, Sadako’s story is told here, along with many of the other estimated 180,000  people who perished here.

The Children’s Memorial in the park, which contains a statue of Sadako and thousands upon thousands of paper cranes- which represent Peace- and where you can also leave your own crane, is to symbolise the huge amount of children who tragically died that day and in the years that followed due to radiation exposure. 

Although most wouldn’t strictly call this book a “ travel related” book, I beg to differ. Travelling is all about exploring new places countries, cities, cultures and customs different to our own, but it’s also about learning about the history of those places you visit to, to reflect on it, learn from it, share and teach each other about it and preserve this history for future generations, so that we are not doomed to repeat previous generations mistakes.

Since that day in August, along with a few days later when another Atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, three days later, on the 9th August, this moment changed the outcome of World War II for the Japanese, but also changed the world and History forever.