Peace Park (Children's Monument)

The Children's Peace Monument is part of the Peace Park in Japan, which is located in Hiroshima and dedicated to the A-bomb victims. I chose the Children's Peace Monument (also known as Tower of 1000 Cranes, Statue of the A-Bomb Children...etc) because of its moving story. The statue is specifically dedicated to Sadako, a child affected by the radiation from the bomb. She folded 1000 origami cranes, believing that it would cure her leukemia that she got from the radiation. Unfortunately she did not get to finish her goal (she passed away because the leukemia), but her classmates finished the cranes for her and now her story is well-known in Japan. The monument is surrounded by booths filled with strings and displays of 1000 cranes that students from Japan and around the world have made in memory of Sadako and the other A-Bomb children. This makes the monument an unusual one, and involves active interaction with it to keep the story alive. However, in this article, vandalism seems to be an issue in the Peace Park, although not necessarily a threat to the Children's Peace Monument. There have been several accusations of the criminals, but no one really seems to have been officially blamed. Some say that "the culprits could be deranged and disaffected members of the peace movement itself", which seems almost out of the question. The vandalism in itself is a disgrace, but the fact that it took place in the PEACE park is ridiculous. I still don't understand the motivation behind such an action, any ideas?