Telephone booths may not play much of a role in modern communication, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still useful. While some have been repurposed as WiFi hotspots or mini libraries, others have assumed an even more important function: helping people grieve the loss of their loved ones.
The first “wind phone” was created by Itaru Sasaki, a garden designer from Ōtsuchi, in Japan’s Tōhoku region. He placed a glass-paneled telephone booth with a disconnected rotary dial phone in his garden with the intention of using it to “speak” with his cousin, who had recently died of cancer.
Although Sasaki’s wind phone was originally intended to be a private way for him to cope with his grief, reminisce about memories, and continue to feel connected to his cousin, just a few months after he installed it, the Tōhoku region was devastated by one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded, followed by huge tsunami waves. Around 20,000 people were killed in the disaster on March 11, 2011, including more than 1,200 in Ōtsuchi.
The loss to the town was immense, equating to around 10% of the population. Sasaki decided to allow members of the public to use the wind phone as a way to connect with friends and family members who were killed by the earthquake and tsunami. Since then, more than 30,000 people have visited the phonebooth, which Sasaki sweeps and dusts every morning. Next to the disconnected phone, there is a notebook for people to write down their thoughts and memories.
Carried on the wind:
- Although the Ōtsuchi wind phone is undoubtedly the most famous, wind phones have been installed all over the world. There are more than 200 wind phones (also known as “phones to nowhere”) in the United States, often in parks, gardens, nature trails, or on church property.
- Talking to the deceased or writing a letter and reading it aloud have long been recognized as powerful ways to release the emotions and tension associated with grief.
- Although no research has been conducted on whether wind phones help people cope with grief, the anecdotal evidence suggests that many people derive great comfort from having a one-way conversation with a departed loved one.
