Her story is told in the book "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes" by Eleanor Coerr, which has been adapted into many other works, including plays, films, and children's books.
Sadako was born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1943. She was only two years old when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city, killing her father.
In 1954, at the age of eleven, Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia, a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. She was given a 50% chance of survival.
While in the hospital, Sadako heard a story about the legend that if you fold a thousand paper cranes, you will be granted a wish. She began folding paper cranes, with the hope that she would be healed of her leukemia.
She folded more than a thousand paper cranes, but her condition did not improve. She passed away on October 25, 1955.
Sadako's story has had a profound impact on people around the world. She has become a symbol of the effects of the atomic bomb and of the hope for peace and the end of nuclear weapons. Thousands of people have folded paper cranes in memory of Sadako and her wish for peace.