At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, a bronze statue of a girl who holds a large paper crane up to the sky is one of the poignant symbols, along with the nearby A-Bomb Dome.
At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, a bronze statue of a girl who holds a large paper crane up to the sky is one of the poignant symbols, along with the nearby A-Bomb Dome.
A singer-songwriter and nephew of the girl who died as a result of the A-bomb and became the model for the Children's Peace Monument, has created a song dedicated to victims of the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.
Yuji Sasaki wrote the song “Negai” (Hope) about his Aunt Sadako Sasaki and her loved ones who were at her bedside when she died in 1955 at age 12. It was written from the standpoint of his father, Masahiro, 70.
“There are people who had wanted to live longer but could not,” Yuji said. “My aunt had always been considerate to others. Both my father and I want to convey what she cherished.”
Yuji, 41, from Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, runs a ramen shop in Tokyo’s Nakano Ward when he is not performing.
One experience prompted him to write and sing for peace and to think of his Aunt Sadako, whom he had up to that time paid little attention to.
He accompanied his father to a lecture about his wartime and A-bomb experiences in 2002.
Sadako was 2 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and was exposed to “black rain,” rainwater laden with radioactive ash, on Aug. 6, 1945. She developed leukemia when she was in the sixth grade and was hospitalized.
Sadako kept folding paper cranes on her bed in the hopes that she would get well, as a legend says that if one folds 1,000 cranes, one’s desire will come true.
However, Sadako died on Oct. 25, 1955, after battling her disease for eight months. She became internationally known as “the girl of paper cranes.”
Yuji thought of composing songs to record his father's wartime and postwar memories. He wanted to show respect to his father, who has been actively speaking about his experiences.
Yuji wrote his first song, “Inori” (Prayer), in 2003.
The lyrics include Sadako’s final words to her loved ones who were by her bedside, “Thank you, thank you so much.”
Yuji performed the song many times and shared Sadako’s episodes with audiences during concerts across Japan.
At Japan Broadcasting Corp.’s (NHK) year-end singing contest in 2010, singer Kumiko sang Yuji’s “Inori” song. In January 2011, the U.S. rock musician Eric Martin covered the song in English.
Struck by the people in the disaster-stricken areas, who were doing reconstruction work amid the rubble, Yuji started writing a sequel to “Inori” last autumn.
He said he wanted to send heartfelt encouragement to them through the new song.
Unlike “Inori,” which he wrote from Sadako’s perspective, “Negai” was written from the standpoint of his father, who was at her bedside when she died.
The song reads: “I was so tired of living that I could not even dream a dream/ But in front of me, you were desperate to live/ Smiling and looking forward to tomorrow.
“Before deciding you’re happy or unhappy/ If you feel your heart beat/ Have a bit of courage/ And let us start walking.”
The song was first performed Jan. 7 at a mini-concert at his ramen shop. His father, who traveled from Fukuoka, was in tears listening to the song.
While there is no plan yet to release a CD of the song, Yuji has been performing it around the country.
On March 11, he will sing "Negai" at a public housing complex in Tokyo’s Nakano Ward, home to about 250 disaster-afflicted evacuees. The performance will not be open to non-residents.
To request a performance by Yuji Sasaki, contact the nonprofit organization Sadako Legacy at (