Q. How many paper cranes are sent to the Children’s Peace Monument?

Around 10 million cranes folded with the wish for peace are sent to the Children’s Peace Monument each year.

Paper cranes are part of the Japanese traditional art of origami or paper folding, and have come to be known as a symbol of peace through the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died from leukemia ten years after the atomic bombing.

Sadako was two years old when she experienced the atomic bombing. She had no apparent injuries at the time and grew into a strong and healthy girl. When she was a sixth grader in the fall of 1954, however, she suddenly became ill and in February the following year, she was admitted to the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital with leukemia. Sadako kept folding cranes out of wrapping paper and whatever paper she could find in hopes of recovering, but after an eight-month struggle with the disease, she passed away on October 25, 1955.

After Sadako’s death, her classmates campaigned to create a monument for peace to comfort the souls of all the children who died from the atomic bombing. Donations poured in from all over Japan to build the Children's Peace Monument in Peace Memorial Park. As this story spread around the world, more and more people began sending cranes so that now, around 10 million cranes are dedicated to the Children's Peace Monument each year.

Inquiries about this page

Peace Promotion Division
International Peace Promotion Department
Tel: 082-242-7831 // Fax:082-242-7452
Email: peace@city.hiroshima.lg.jp​