August 24th 2003

Sadako's Story

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Hijiyama Elementary School Student
Tojo Elemenrtary School Student
Takatorikita Middle School Student
Sadako's Family
GOD BREATH

Special thanks to H.Fukuhara

日本語のページはこちら

lastupdated 2003.8.31.

	Opening Hi! I'm Sadako Sasaki.
Performance (Hijiyama Elementary School)		Children are playing.
	"Kagome Kagome" "Darumasan ga koronda" "Hanaichimonme"


Performance (Tojo Elementary School)	We made peace poem for world peace.

	What is "peace"? It's happiness of all over the world. Peace forever!

Performance (Takatorikita Middle School)	"Is the world really peaceful now? "

"Take Back the Human" Sankichi Toge Give back father, give back mother, Give back grandpa, give back grandma, Give back boys, give back girls, Give me back myself. Give me back men Linked to me. As long as men live as men, Give back Peace, peace that never crumbles. Take back the Human.

"Sadako's Story"		Masahiro Sasaki (Sadako's Brother) Told About Sadako
August 6, 1945, 8:15 a.m. Hiroshima. Sadako, a two-year-old girl, was having breakfast with my grandmother, my mother and me. At the moment the bomb fell on, the sky sparked and we were blown away. Our house was destroyed. A cloud of dust attacked us, so we could not see anything, Sadako was crying, but not injured. There was some pieces of glass stuck on my head. A chopstick was being stuck into my grandmother's hand. But we are alive. There were many people crashed under broken houses. They were crying for help, but we could not do anything for them. We have to leave them behind because many dangerous thing were around us. City was completely destroyed, filled with the smell of dead body. It was really painful for me to be alive. We escaped Hiroshima City by boat. Suddenly, it began to rain. It was black radioactive rain. It soaked into our body. Ten years had passed. Suddenly, Sadako had a high fever and aches in joints. So my father carried her on his back and went to see a doctor. The doctor said, "Her life may endure one year at the most." Leukemia has caused these symptoms. Sadako had to be taken to the hospital. On the day she was entering the hospital, she grew uneasy. "Was I taken leukemia? What shall I do?" "I may not be able to see my friends and Mr. Nomura (her teacher) any more." She could not go to school on the day of graduation ceremony. So my father received her diploma instead of her. "I'm sorry to bother you with my disease, Dad." My father worked very hard to make money for the hospital. He was a barber. There were six people in my family. He had to make money for them also. A barber fee was 140 yen at that time. A blood transfusion fee was 800 yen. Sadako had to take two blood transfusion in a week. A pain-killing drag was 2200 yen. But he was willing to do anything in the world to help her. He would have gladly laid down his life for her sake. One day he disposed of his valuable watch for the fee. Sadako knew that later so she never complained of her pain and ache. When she looked him in his left arm, she could not find his watch on it. She was very sad. Some months later, we had to dispose of our house. Sadako cried, "I'm to blame for it." The pain was so severe hard to bear. However Sadako never gave up all hope of recovery. During the years of fighting against her disease, her eyes had always been sparkling with hope. She really wanted to live at any cost!! Someone said, "If you make 1000 origami cranes, you'll get over the disease." When Sadako heard that story, she decided to make 1000 cranes. She made a wish for recovery in each crane, And at last, she made it! But her disease didn't pass away. She was very sad. However she continued to make them. "I'll never say any complaints. I don't want to worry my parents. If I make another 1000 cranes, I might get well. When I get over the disease, I can go back to my house. So I'll never give up!" Sadako was really strong person. She never say complaints. But she had wept only once. On the day she enter the hospital, her mother stayed there with her. The next morning, Mother had to go back. When Sadako was seeing her off, she couldn't help shedding tears. She must have been really uneasy. When Mother saw her tears, she held Sadako tightly and said, "Don't worry. You'll be all right soon. Absolutely!" That was the first time that we saw Sadako shedding tears. She never cried any more. The day Sadako passed away, Mother lamented over. Sadako must have been very painful, but she told Mother not to cry and tried to cheer her up. Father made ochazuke (a kind of Japanese food) for her. She took one mouthful of it first and said, "It tastes really good.　"Then she took another and said to Mother and Father in a faint voice, "I love you, Mom, Dad..." She regarded each of visitors with gratitude. Then she close her eyes silently. And never woke up again. Mother said to herself, "I'm sorry, Sadako. I couldn't cure your disease. You must have been painful. But now you can sleep peacefully." Father cried, "Sadako, let's go back home." After Sadako's death, her friends established a monument. They named it "Sadako's monument." I believe that Sadako gave her life to God to make all the people of the world know the cruelty of war and atrocity of the Atomic Bomb. I world like to appeal to the world. "No disputes! No war!" "Please don't make Sadako's grief stronger." "One thousand paper cranes have been telling Sadako's wish to people all over the world." "No disputes, no war any more." "Let's not make lamentable history any more!"
Eiichi Hashimoto (Hibakusya) Told About A-bomb "No more Hiroshima"
Performance (GOD BREATH)
SADAKO INORI Like a little flower on the way-side PRECIOUS SUMMER

Let's sing together!