Local Connection:
This Kitty has a special connection to the history of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. The city has created a Peace Park just across from the iconic remains of the old Industrial Promotional Hall, now called the A-bomb Dome. Within the park are several memorial statues to the victims of the bomb. One of the most famous of these is the Children's Monument which features a girl holding up an origami crane.

This statue was built in honor of Sadako Sasaki who contracted leukaemia as result of the bomb. Japanese folklore holds that whoever folds a chain of 1000 oragami cranes (Senbazuru) will be granted a wish. Before her death, Sadako attempted to reach that goal but was unable to finish. Now school children all over the country fold cranes and attach them into long, colorful chains in her memory. If you look closely you can see the name of the school on the chains hanging in the Peace Park.

You can see more images of senbazuru in my Hiroshima Gallery.

Sadako Sasaki statue in Hiroshima Peace Park