Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb struck the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Before this, the city had not been attacked during World War II, although Hiroshima’s prominence as a military center made it “a potential target for Allied bombing” (“Hiroshima, Japan.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 May 2023). The uranium bomb, which was named Little Boy, was dropped by the United States Air Force B-29 bomber Enola Gay. The blast destroyed most of the city, and about 55% of Hiroshima’s population perished within the year. More than 70,000 people died during or soon after the explosion, and about 70,000 more died of related complications by December 1945. Over the next decades, the death toll continued to rise as radiation caused severe illnesses among Hiroshima’s population. The symptoms of radiation injury include hair loss, internal bleeding, “confusion, convulsions, weakness, and fatigue” (“Hiroshima, Japan”). In addition, many people in Hiroshima developed cancers, such as leukemia, due to radiation exposure.

Reconstruction efforts began in 1950, and the city has become an important economic, historical, and spiritual center. Hiroshima is a gathering place for members of an international peace movement that seeks to ban nuclear weaponry. In addition, the city is a manufacturing hub for many products, including ships, steel, and automobiles.