Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Chizuko’s steadfast, thoughtful, and comforting personality makes her Sadako’s best friend and one of the novel’s most important supporting characters. Sadako and Chizuko have been friends since kindergarten. When Chizuko is introduced in Chapter 2, her slow and steady manner balances out Sadako’s fast-paced energy. The author uses a simile to emphasize the strength of their friendship: “Sadako was sure that they would always be as close as two pine needles on the same twig” (15). Chizuko’s presence brings Sadako comfort on Peace Day and during her hospitalization. The photographs of the bomb’s aftermath frighten Sadako, and she holds her friend’s hand while they walk through the memorial building at the entrance to Peace Park. Later in the novel, Chizuko demonstrates her steadfast nature by visiting Sadako in the hospital whenever the doctors permit her to do so. She comes to see her friend on Sadako’s first full day in the hospital, and she returns near the end of Sadako’s life. During these visits, Chizuko doesn’t let her own emotions weigh her down or keep her from cheering up her friend. Another reason why Chizuko makes an excellent friend is her thoughtfulness. Knowing how much Sadako loves good luck charms and wishes, she gives her the idea of folding 1,000 paper cranes. The golden crane from Chizuko is a great source of solace to Sadako, and Sadako promises, “I’ll never never part with it” (36). Due to the hospital’s visitor guidelines, several months pass without Chizuko and Sadako seeing one another. When the friends are apart, the golden crane reminds Sadako of her best friend and gives her strength.

Chizuko sets the plot into motion and develops the theme of Hope and Perseverance by giving Sadako the idea of folding paper cranes. Chizuko gives Sadako her first crane and teaches her how to fold origami birds. Even though Chizuko “didn’t really believe” in legends and good luck charms (36), she knows that the idea of a miracle will help to keep Sadako’s hope alive. In addition, the friends’ outing on Peace Day helps to establish what Sadako’s life is like before her diagnosis and what the atomic bomb steals from her. Historically, Sadako’s classmates played a vital role in preserving and sharing her story. Chizuko helps the reader understand the bonds of loyalty and love between Sadako and her classmates.

Although Kenji only appears in one chapter, his solemn, lonely, and perceptive nature leaves a lasting impression on Sadako. The nine-year-old is “small for his age” and has a “thin face and shining dark eyes” (43). Sadako often feels isolated in the hospital despite having many friends, relatives, and pen-pals. Kenji’s circumstances as an orphan make his loneliness even sharper. Kenji spends most of his time in solitary reflection, which makes him wise beyond his years. He has no illusions regarding the state of his health, and the quiet boy is resigned to his early death. For example, when Nurse Yasunaga asks how he knows he will die soon, he answers, “I can read my blood count on the chart. Every day it gets worse” (44). Kenji’s awareness of his mortality leads him to deny himself the comfort of believing in miracles and legends like Sadako. Still, her presence and friendship bring him solace in his final days.

The static nature of Kenji’s characterization makes it all the more vivid and tragic. His time in the book is short, just like his brief life. The reader does not know what Kenji was like before he met Sadako in the hospital or how he might have changed and grown if he had lived longer. Sadako only knows him briefly, but one of the novel’s nine chapters is named after him. Kenji develops the themes of Living With Grief and War’s Impact on Children by reminding the reader that Sadako is not the only child to watch her health fade and lose her life because of the atomic bomb. Indeed, her situation is all the more tragic because it is not unique. Kenji is a minor and static character, but his brief life touches Sadako and the reader.

Mr. Sasaki is Sadako’s proud, devout, and dutiful father. He works hard to support his wife and four children, which is no easy feat on the barber’s income, and the family struggles financially. While Mr. Sasaki can’t give his children everything he wants, he takes great pride in them and strives to raise them with strong values. For example, he scolds Sadako for her blithe attitude toward Peace Day in Chapter 1 because he wants her to show respect for those who lost their lives to the atomic bomb, including her grandmother. His reaction shows that he has a strong sense of duty to his relatives, both the living and the deceased. He leads the family in prayers in which he wishes that “the spirits of their ancestors were happy and peaceful” and voices his gratitude for “his fine children” (12).

When it comes to Sadako, Mr. Sasaki is particularly proud of her strength and speed as a runner. Even then, he wants his daughter to see how her individual accomplishments connect to a bigger picture and offer her a chance to demonstrate her values. When Sadako is chosen to represent her class in the relay race, Mr. Sasaki gives “a long speech about family honor and pride” at dinner that evening (23). Before the race, Mr. Sasaki helps to ease his daughter’s worries by reminding her of his unconditional love: “‘Just do your best,’ Mr. Sasaki said, giving Sadako’s hand a squeeze. ‘We’ll be proud of you’” (25). Mr. Sasaki’s unwavering pride, devotion, and duty toward his family make him an important supporting character.

Mr. Sasaki develops the theme of Living With Grief by showing how one father copes with his daughter’s illness and death. Not wanting to discourage Sadako’s hopes of a miraculous recovery, Mr. Sasaki tries to conceal his emotions and unpleasant information from her. For example, Mr. Sasaki has “a troubled look in [his] eyes” when Sadako is first hospitalized and asks if she has leukemia (31). Instead of confirming her diagnosis, he tells her, “The doctors want to make some tests—that’s all” (31). As Sadako’s health declines, he uses denial and the cranes to cope. For example, in Chapter 8, when Sadako refers to her imminent death: “‘Hush!’ Mr. Sasaki said in a funny voice. ‘That will not happen for many, many years. Don’t give up now, Sadako chan. You have to make only a few hundred more cranes’” (55).

Sadako’s condition strains Mr. and Mrs. Sasaki’s relationship, although this is only visible during a few moments in the novel. During Sadako’s only visit home, Mr. Sasaki tries to find a silver lining in the changes he observes in his daughter and pays her an unfortunate compliment: “Oba chan’s spirit must be pleased to see how ladylike her granddaughter has become” (55). His words inadvertently wound his wife by reminding her of Sadako’s lost vitality, and Mrs. Sasaki retreats to the kitchen in tears. Despite these occasional misunderstandings, Mr. Sasaki and his wife remain a united front in the care and support of their children, especially Sadako. Mr. Sasaki offers a moving example of a father living with grief.