Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of warfare, illness, and the deaths of children.

The story begins on August 6, 1954, nine years after the United States Air Force dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Eleven-year-old Sadako gets up early and admires the cloudless blue sky, which she considers a sign of good luck. Eager to begin the day, she wakes up her siblings. Sadako has a 14-year-old brother named Masahiro, a nine-year-old sister named Mitsue, and a six-year-old brother named Eiji. Sadako wants to hurry to the Peace Day celebrations, which feature music, fireworks, and street food. Her parents scold her for calling Peace Day a carnival because it is a memorial day to remember those killed by the atomic bomb, including Sadako’s grandmother.

The Sasaki family gathers for morning prayers around a small altar shelf with a picture of Sadako’s late grandmother, whom they call Oba chan. Mr. Sasaki, who is a barber, prays for his ancestors, expresses gratitude for his family, and asks that his children be protected from “the atom bomb disease called leukemia” (13). After prayers, the family eats breakfast together. Sadako hurries to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen with Mitsue in the hopes that completing her chores quickly will allow her to enjoy the fun of the Peace Day celebrations sooner.