VOX POPULI: The ‘Orizuru Girl’ was one of so many lives the A-bomb cut short
This article reflects on the life of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died of leukemia a decade after being exposed to the Hiroshima atomic bomb. Her legacy lives on through the Children’s Peace Monument, which was established by her classmates to memorialize her and other victims.
Why it matters
It serves as a poignant historical reminder of the long-term human cost of nuclear warfare and the power of grassroots memorialization.
The Children’s Peace Monument, inspired by Sadako Sasaki who died from radiation exposure after the atomic bombing, is seen on April 26, 2018, in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward. (Koichi Ueda)
“Thank you for your get-well wishes. My favorite thing is music. As for flowers, my favorite is the rose. And my favorite star is (singer-actress) Misora Hibari-chan. …”
So went the draft of a thank-you letter from a young girl in a hospital bed to her pen pal. The girl had a habit of jotting down her thoughts on medicine wrappers and other scraps of paper.
She was one of the 62 sixth-year “Take Gumi” (Bamboo class) pupils at the Hiroshima Municipal Noboricho Primary School.
A fast runner, she was given the unflattering nickname of “saru” (monkey) by peeved boys in her class who knew they could never outrun her.
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