On the anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, the Istanbul Toy Museum remembers Sadako Sasaki, who has become a symbol of world peace and disarmament. One of the people affected by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, during the Second World War, was Sadako Sasaki. Sadako was not injured that day, but she was exposed to the radiation spread by the atomic bomb and fell ill ten years later. After hearing the story of the 1000 cranes from friends who came to visit her, Sadako began to fold origami cranes in her hospital bed so that she could get well, because, according to a Japanese belief, the wish of a person who folds 1000 paper cranes comes true. While making the cranes, Sadako Sasaki dreamt of getting well again and playing with her friends, but she could not complete the cranes.

Since the day it was founded, the Istanbul Toy Museum has remembered Sadako Sasaki every year on 6 August with events held so that such a tragedy never happens again, and has expressed the hope of peace for the whole world. This year, on Tuesday 6 August, we begin our remembrance of Sadako Sasaki with Japanese and Turkish children’s songs.

After the songs played by the musicians of Baby Concerts, with Didem Karakaya on flute, Alise Juska-Savga and Katarzyna Özdemir on violin and Feride Berin Öğet on cello, children will be introduced to origami, the art of paper folding that is part of Japanese culture, and make cranes at an event led by instructor Gökçen Atamgüç. Then, imagining the birds with peace, love and serenity written on their wings taking flight into the sky, they will put their feelings into pictures.

Our event, open to children aged 5 and over, will take place from 11:00 to 12:30. The event is free for museum visitors.