Japan’s Wind Phone Allows People To ‘Call’ Departed Loved Ones

• Japan’s Wind Phone (“Kaze no Denwa” is not your ordinary phone booth.
• The phone is actually disconnected but people use it to “speak” with departed loved ones.
• For them, sending messages this way leads them to healing.

Losing a loved one can be one of the most tragic experiences in life. And people deal with grief differently.

For many, friends and family members passed away in an abrupt manner that they didn’t even have the chance to at least say goodbye. This is the idea behind Japan’s “Kaze no Denwa,” which literally translates to “phone of the wind or wind phone.”

People visit the Wind Phone to “talk” with their departed loved ones and have some sort of closure.

Located on a tiny hill in the town of Otsuchi, this white phone booth houses a disconnected black phone placed there by Itaru Sasaki. It’s considered by many as a private space that allows them to process loss and grief.

According to the 72-year-old man, he began working on the project back in 2010 but only completed it after the destructive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that tragically claimed thousands of lives. Unfortunately, one of the victims was Sasaki’s cousin.

In an NHK Sendai interview, Sasaki, a garden designer, shared:

“Because my thoughts couldn’t be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried on the wind.”

When the media began featuring the wind phone, thousands began flocking to the area to likewise speak with their deceased loved ones.

Also found beside the phone is a notebook used by people to leave written messages as well. Over the years, visitors from different walks of life, not only those who lost loved ones to the disaster.

Sasaki also pointed out:

“The telephone is not connected, but people feel like their lost loved ones are there listening on the other end of the line. I want people to resume their lives as soon as possible by expressing their feelings.”

Go check out this documentary about the “Kaze No Denwa”: