Masahiro Sasaki - The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki: And the Thousand Paper Cranes

Acclaim for
The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki

My grandfather, Harry S. Truman, never spoke to me about the atomic bombings of Japan. Like most Americans, I learned about them in school. Textbooks didnt give me much more than casualty figures. Nothing about what really happened to the people on the ground. Sadako Sasakis story was the first human story of the bombings Id ever read. It led me to Masahiro and two visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the second, with my son, Wesley, to record survivor testimony for the Truman Presidential Library. In all that time, Masahiro rarely told his own version of his familys story, preferring to focus on his sisters courage and selflessness. Now, we have the full story of the courage and selflessness of the entire Sasaki family, their friends and the people of Hiroshima.

Clifton Truman Daniel

Grandson of President Harry S. Truman

Born in Hiroshima in 1943, Sadako Sasaki was two years old when she experienced the atomic bombing. She lived life as fully as she could, but it was cut short at the young age of twelve. The powerful message she proclaimed throughout her entire life still resonates with us all: Peace in our world can be achieved not through holding grudges but through striving to live our lives with compassion for others. Hope will be born from overcoming our differences, from profound understanding of one another, and from respect for our fellow human beings.

Kazumi Matsui

Mayor, Hiroshima, Japan

When children make a crane it gives them a personal connection to a tragedy that they might otherwise not grasp because its horrific dimensions surpass normal imagination. Focusing on one persons story opens the possibility of becoming engaged in the abolition of nuclear weapons. If a mere one hundred explode every persons life on this frail planet will suffer beyond normal imagination and we must never let that happen.

Jonathan Granoff

President, Global Security Institute

The Complete Story of Sadako Sasaki reminds us of our essential goodness and belongs in libraries, classrooms, and homes everywhere. Sadako inspires us to connect with others, recognize their needs, and act accordingly regardless of our personal circumstances. Omoiyarino-kokoro, the act of showing empathy and concern, is demonstrated over and over again, as both Sadako and the authors offer us an opportunity to understand the joy of living beyond ourselves. The Peace Crane Project, described in the epilogue, is a beautiful opportunity to experience this joy and help create the conditions for a culture of peace.

Dr. Dorothy J. Maver

President, National Peace Academy

This book tells the story of a young girl, Sadako Sasaki, an innocent victim of war. While in the hospital, twelve-year-old Sadako folded one thousand paper cranes in the hope of recovering from her atomic bomb-induced disease, and then she continued folding another one thousand paper cranes for her father. The book was written to inform young readers of Sadakos struggle and to inspire them to take action for peace. I believe it succeeds on both counts.

In Santa Barbara, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and La Casa de Maria created Sadako Peace Garden, a beautiful, natural garden in honor of Sadako, and each year we hold a commemoration in the garden on or about August 6 (Hiroshima Day), which we refer to as Sadako Peace Day.

Dr. David Krieger

President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Through reading the story of Sadako Sasaki you will know that the abolition of nuclear weapons and the rejection of war are the only path to survival for mankind. As you read the unbearable tragedy brought by the atomic bombing, you will learn the real meaning of to live from Sadako, who patiently fought against an incurable disease that was so hard to endure. I hope you make many friends through the symbolic paper crane left to us by Sadako. Please build a peaceful future together.

Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba

Former Mayor, Hiroshima, Japan

The Complete Story of

Sadako Sasaki

and the Thousand Cranes

Sue DiCicco and
Sadakos brother Masahiro Sasaki

Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

www.tuttlepublishing.com

Copyright 2020 by Sue DiCicco and Masahiro Sasaki

Translation work by Naomi Nakagoshi and Anne Prescott

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-1-4629-2169-0

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Do you know that the wind feels good?

Do you know that the air is delicious?

To walk without worry.

To sleep without care.

To eat without concern.

So many take for granted these simple pleasures.

Do you? I hope you do not.

Be thankful for these things.

I want to tell you, they are wonderful.

SADAKO SASAKI

Preface

Thoughts from Sue DiCicco

Sadako Sasaki was a young girl of twelve when leukemia, most likely caused by exposure to the atom bomb dropped on her city of Hiroshima, Japan, at the end of World War II, took her life.

Like many people in Japan, Sadako learned to fold origami cranes and believed that folding cranes might lead to the granting of a wish.

So much of what I read about Sadako was contradictory and felt incomplete. What did this brave young girl experience and how did her own family remember her?

My desire to learn more about Sadakos story propelled me to contact Masahiro Sasaki, Sadakos older brother. Masahiro-san became a gracious, supportive, informative, and generous partner in my quest, providing not only Sadakos story as he remembered it, but a broad and thoughtful perspective on war, life, and our collective power and responsibility to create a positive future for children everywhere.

This book is the result of our meeting and collaboration in telling Sadakos complete story.

Our translator, Naomi Nakagoshi worked beyond all expectation, to not only facilitate communication but research dates and facts, and connect me with other survivors and scholars in Japan. She was an integral part of the journey and invaluable in bringing Sadakos story to life.