life out of order.: japan. part 1.

i reckon it's going to take me more than this one post to get through my trip to japan. i'll start at the top. first stop: hiroshima. this is where my grandfather's family is originally from...i think. since family lineage is taken from the father's side (and my dad isn't japanese) i guess i can't really claim 5th generation...but i do. mom, grandma, and i visited the hiroshima memorial. the museum was intense, i have actually been haunted by some of the images ever since i first visited in 1993. one image i don't mind remembering is the beautiful displays of thousands of colorful cranes. these cranes are a symbol of innocent victims of war. the cranes are brought from around the world to honor innocent children who have been taken from us. the story of the cranes starts with a young girl named sadako. sadako was living one mile from the point where the atomic bomb hit. she died as a result of radiation and in her final months attempted to fold 1,000 cranes to fulfill the japanese folk tale that anyone who folds 1,000 cranes will be granted a wish from the gods. it's been said that she didn't complete all 1,000 but her friends finished them for her and buried them with her. the memorial is beautiful and the story even more so.