Sadako’s paper crane to be donated to Iran, thanks to joint film
Sep. 6, 2013
by Daisuke Matsumoto, Staff Writer
One of the paper cranes folded by Sadako Sasaki, the girl who served as the inspiration for the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, will be donated to the Farabi Cinema Foundation in Iran. Sadako was exposed to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima when she was two and developed radiation-induced leukemia ten years later. Hoping to recover from her illness, she folded paper cranes until her death at the age of 12.
The plan to donate one of her paper cranes to the foundation has arisen as a result of a new film being jointly produced through Japanese and Iranian efforts. Based on Sadako’s story, the movie is tentatively titled, “The Fourth Crane.” The Farabi Cinema Foundation is one of the backers of the film. Sadako Legacy, a non-profit organization for which Masahiro Sasaki, 72, Sadako’s elder brother and a resident of Fukuoka, serves as president, agreed to the idea. This will be the fourth of Sadako’s cranes given overseas.
On September 3, Seyyed Ahmad Miralaii, 54, president of the foundation, visited such places as Noboricho Junior High School, where Sadako was enrolled, and explained, “I would like to display this paper crane at a film museum after showing it at a children’s film festival in Iran.” Mr. Mirallaii also met Yuji Sasaki, 43, Sadako’s nephew and a resident of Tokyo. Yuji said, “Conveying Hiroshima’s story to the children of the future is very important.” He will hand the paper crane to Mr. Miralaii in person at the film festival, which opens on October 7.
(Originally published on September 4, 2013)
One of the paper cranes folded by Sadako Sasaki, the girl who served as the inspiration for the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, will be donated to the Farabi Cinema Foundation in Iran. Sadako was exposed to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima when she was two and developed radiation-induced leukemia ten years later. Hoping to recover from her illness, she folded paper cranes until her death at the age of 12.
The plan to donate one of her paper cranes to the foundation has arisen as a result of a new film being jointly produced through Japanese and Iranian efforts. Based on Sadako’s story, the movie is tentatively titled, “The Fourth Crane.” The Farabi Cinema Foundation is one of the backers of the film. Sadako Legacy, a non-profit organization for which Masahiro Sasaki, 72, Sadako’s elder brother and a resident of Fukuoka, serves as president, agreed to the idea. This will be the fourth of Sadako’s cranes given overseas.
On September 3, Seyyed Ahmad Miralaii, 54, president of the foundation, visited such places as Noboricho Junior High School, where Sadako was enrolled, and explained, “I would like to display this paper crane at a film museum after showing it at a children’s film festival in Iran.” Mr. Mirallaii also met Yuji Sasaki, 43, Sadako’s nephew and a resident of Tokyo. Yuji said, “Conveying Hiroshima’s story to the children of the future is very important.” He will hand the paper crane to Mr. Miralaii in person at the film festival, which opens on October 7.
(Originally published on September 4, 2013)
