LOS ALAMOS-JAPAN INSTITUTE NEWS
The Los Alamos-Japan Institute (LAJI) launches LAJI Global Conversations, a new webinar series featuring Clifton Truman Daniel in conversation with thought leaders and change makers 75 years after his grandfather, President Harry S. Truman, authorized the use of atomic weapons against Japan.
LAJI Global Conversations kicks off 5 p.m. Oct. 15 featuring Masahiro Sasaki, Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor and brother of Sadako Sasaki, whose actions sparked a peace movement. Join Masahiro and Clifton in a conversation about the significance of origami paper cranes, their place in Sadako’s life and Masahiro’s vision for their role in global reconciliation.
Sadako’s short life inspired the creation of the Hiroshima Children’s Peace Monument, a statue of a young girl lifting a paper cane toward the sky. The monument is dedicated to all the children killed, wounded or sickened by the bomb.
“Since Sadako heard from our father of the legend of the paper crane: ‘If you fold a thousand paper cranes, your wish will come true,’ she kept folding cranes to her last gasp,” Masahiro said. “Now people have come to know her story and started to offer their paper cranes with various wishes to this monument from all over the world. The paper crane is Sadako’s alter ego. Sadako, who happened to be aware that she didn’t have much time left to live, continued to fold cranes day after day to wish on them without any lament or resentment. Furthermore, she kept folding cranes not for herself but for our parents and family. This is what I want to share with you all, the Compassionate Heart.”
“Los Alamos, Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain places of conscience connected by the atomic bomb,” LAJI Director Judith Stauber said. “Seven decades on, personal and community memories remain deeply rooted in the culture and values of these places.”
LAJI builds global cultural bridges with a network of atomic bomb survivors, scientists, artists, educators, mayors and museums to further intercultural dialogue and collaboration. Masahiro Sasaki and Clifton Truman Daniel serve as co-chairs of the LAJI Advisory Board.
For more information and to register, visit http://www.laji.us or contact Stauber, judith@laji.us. Cosponsored with the Paper Crane Foundation.
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