Paper planes and cranes made by A-bomb survivor are given to elementary school in Brazil
May 6, 2019
by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer
Paper planes and paper cranes, folded by Shoso Kawamoto, 85, an A-bomb survivor and resident of Nishi Ward, Hiroshima, are now on permanent display at Itaka Elementary School in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Mr. Kawamoto, who was delighted to receive a picture of his gifts and a letter of thanks from the school, hopes that his desire for peace will be conveyed to children on the other side of the world.
Mr. Kawamoto serves as a Peace Volunteer at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. He lost six members of his family to the atomic bomb and was on his own from the time he was 11, resulting in a life of hardship. As an A-bomb survivor, he has continued to share his A-bomb experience and explanations about the museum’s exhibits in order to relate the suffering of the A-bomb orphans who lost their lives due to hunger and illness. Mr. Kawamoto has thus far made roughly 250,000 paper planes with little paper cranes, which he presents to museum visitors, including students who visit the museum on school trips. He said that his mother originally taught him how to fold a paper crane.
The opportunity for Mr. Kawamoto’s paper planes to be sent to Itaka Elementary School came from Cristiane Nakagawa, 37, a researcher at the University of São Paulo. While she was in Hiroshima last January to pursue research for her doctoral dissertation, she heard Mr. Kawamoto’s A-bomb testimony and was very impressed. She subsequently asked him to make 50 paper planes, which could symbolize the “wings of freedom” for children of wartime who had no chance to play and ended up losing their lives.
Ms. Nakagawa donated some of these planes to Itaka Elementary School, where her oldest daughter Mai, 8, is a student, and the students there were moved by them. After that, one plane, about 10 centimeters in length, was placed in a clear container and hung at the entrance to the school, along with another container holding Mr. Kawamoto’s paper cranes.
The Itaka Elementary School wrote a thank-you letter to Mr. Kawamoto for his planes and cranes, saying, “We will be guardians of your gifts, and through the parents and children who are part of our school now, and in the future, we will carry on your story.” The letter was given to Tomie Futakuchi, 69, a resident of Saeki Ward and a friend of Ms. Nakagawa, during her stay in Sao Paulo, and Ms. Futakuchi delivered it to Mr. Kawamoto.
Mr. Kawamoto read the letter, with a photo of the display of his plane and cranes attached to it, with the help of Kenichi Harada, 74, a resident of Higashi Ward and a fellow Peace Volunteer. Mr. Kawamoto said with a smile, “I’m delighted to know that the students of Itaka Elementary School have displayed my paper plane and cranes in such a beautiful way.”
Ms. Nakagawa said she firmly believes that the children in Brazil will understand the suffering of the A-bomb orphans and the thoughts and feelings of the A-bomb survivors through Mr. Kawamoto’s gifts. She added that her daughter has expressed the desire to go to Hiroshima and meet Mr. Kawamoto in person, so she would love to visit Hiroshima with her family.
(Originally published on May 6, 2019)
Paper planes and paper cranes, folded by Shoso Kawamoto, 85, an A-bomb survivor and resident of Nishi Ward, Hiroshima, are now on permanent display at Itaka Elementary School in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Mr. Kawamoto, who was delighted to receive a picture of his gifts and a letter of thanks from the school, hopes that his desire for peace will be conveyed to children on the other side of the world.
Mr. Kawamoto serves as a Peace Volunteer at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. He lost six members of his family to the atomic bomb and was on his own from the time he was 11, resulting in a life of hardship. As an A-bomb survivor, he has continued to share his A-bomb experience and explanations about the museum’s exhibits in order to relate the suffering of the A-bomb orphans who lost their lives due to hunger and illness. Mr. Kawamoto has thus far made roughly 250,000 paper planes with little paper cranes, which he presents to museum visitors, including students who visit the museum on school trips. He said that his mother originally taught him how to fold a paper crane.
The opportunity for Mr. Kawamoto’s paper planes to be sent to Itaka Elementary School came from Cristiane Nakagawa, 37, a researcher at the University of São Paulo. While she was in Hiroshima last January to pursue research for her doctoral dissertation, she heard Mr. Kawamoto’s A-bomb testimony and was very impressed. She subsequently asked him to make 50 paper planes, which could symbolize the “wings of freedom” for children of wartime who had no chance to play and ended up losing their lives.
Ms. Nakagawa donated some of these planes to Itaka Elementary School, where her oldest daughter Mai, 8, is a student, and the students there were moved by them. After that, one plane, about 10 centimeters in length, was placed in a clear container and hung at the entrance to the school, along with another container holding Mr. Kawamoto’s paper cranes.
The Itaka Elementary School wrote a thank-you letter to Mr. Kawamoto for his planes and cranes, saying, “We will be guardians of your gifts, and through the parents and children who are part of our school now, and in the future, we will carry on your story.” The letter was given to Tomie Futakuchi, 69, a resident of Saeki Ward and a friend of Ms. Nakagawa, during her stay in Sao Paulo, and Ms. Futakuchi delivered it to Mr. Kawamoto.
Mr. Kawamoto read the letter, with a photo of the display of his plane and cranes attached to it, with the help of Kenichi Harada, 74, a resident of Higashi Ward and a fellow Peace Volunteer. Mr. Kawamoto said with a smile, “I’m delighted to know that the students of Itaka Elementary School have displayed my paper plane and cranes in such a beautiful way.”
Ms. Nakagawa said she firmly believes that the children in Brazil will understand the suffering of the A-bomb orphans and the thoughts and feelings of the A-bomb survivors through Mr. Kawamoto’s gifts. She added that her daughter has expressed the desire to go to Hiroshima and meet Mr. Kawamoto in person, so she would love to visit Hiroshima with her family.
(Originally published on May 6, 2019)
