The wings on the design are actually from a crane and they symbolize prosperity, longevity, and peace. The clouds, also known as auspicious clouds, represent a good omen and "good luck"
The name Sadako is a tribute to Sadako Sasaki.
Sadako Sasaki was a young girl living in Hiroshima in 1945 when the atomic bomb was dropped there. Sadako was merely one-year-old at that time. Ten years later, in 1955, she was diagnosed with Leukemia caused by the bombing and was admitted to a hospital.
Agonized at her disease and confinement, the young Sadako remembered the popular myth about the thousand paper cranes and began making them, hoping for her wish to be granted.
Paper was scarcely available in those days, but even this couldn’t deter Sadako; she used gift wrappers, candy wrappers, even the wrappers of the medicine bottles to make paper cranes. In the 14 months she spent in the hospital, Sadako had made about 1300 paper cranes.
Her wish was that she, along with all the other war victims, would get healed. However, before this dream could be realized, Sadako passed away at the tender age of 12.
All of Sadako’s friends and classmates were deeply moved by her effort and death and collected money to build a memorial for her. It took three years to build the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane. Beneath the figure is a messaged engraved, which reads: “This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.”