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Paper crane from Hiroshima is put on permanent display in Pearl Harbor

by Kyoko Niiyama, Staff Writer

The permanent display of a paper crane folded by Sadako Sasaki, the girl who served as the inspiration for the Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima, has opened in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The small crane, which points to the tremendous damage wrought by the U.S. A-bomb attack, has come to the place where the Pacific War broke out. People with ties to Sadako expressed delight at the significance of the display, a symbol of past bitterness overcome and political postures transcended. They also expressed high hopes for this new stage of partnership.

The crane is on display in the Visitor Center, at the entrance to the USS Arizona Memorial, which lies above the battleship USS Arizona. This ship sank in the attack carried out by Japan on Pearl Harbor. Toshiyuki Mimaki, 71, secretary-general of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, chaired by Sunao Tsuboi, said in delight, “Although there was hatred between our two nations during the war, our feelings for peace are the same. I hope Japan and the United States, together with Hiroshima, will produce a groundswell for the abolition of nuclear weapons.”

To create the display case and explanatory panel for the one centimeter-long crane, donations of 72,000 dollars, or about 7.1 million yen, were raised by Japanese-Americans living in Hawaii. Tomiko Kawano, 71, a resident of Naka Ward and Sadako’s classmate when they attended Noboricho Elementary School in downtown Hiroshima, said, “It must have been hard to solicit contributions in the United States, since some people still believe that the atomic bombings ended the war. I think thoughts for peace were behind many of the donations.”

Yoshifumi Mitsutomo, 56, the principal of Nobori-cho Junior High School, which for many years has continued to hold a memorial ceremony for Sadako at the Children’s Peace Monument, said, “I hope that the children of the world will see the crane.” He went on: “Although the crane is tiny, it will leave a strong impression on a child’s heart. I hope they will consider the thoughts that Sadako put into her crane.”

(Originally published on September 23, 2013)   

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