"I Miss My Child Who Passed Away First"... The 80-Year-Old Man Behind the Global 'Wind Phone' Phenomenon [Japan Insight]

Itaru Sasaki Installs a Phone in His Front Yard
After the Great East Japan Earthquake, Bereaved Families Visit... He Opens His Garden to the Public
Spread to 17 Countries Amid COVID-19 and Various Wars

This week, Japanese media featured the story of an 80-year-old man who became famous for the "Wind Phone." He created a phone booth in his own yard to send messages to loved ones who had passed away. Last week, it was reported that the Wind Phone had even made its way to Connecticut in the United States. Today, we share the story of Itaru Sasaki, the man behind the global Wind Phone phenomenon.

Sasaki was born in February 1945 in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. He grew up in the same neighborhood and worked at a steel mill before taking early retirement at the age of 51. At 54, he decided to move to Kujirayama in Iwate Prefecture. The new home was in a rural area with an ocean view right in front of the mountains?a lifestyle he had dreamed of since childhood. He found joy in tending his garden and feeding the local wildlife, embracing a life in harmony with nature.

The book "The Telephone of the Wind" published by Mr. Sasaki. The photo shows a phone booth in Mr. Sasaki's garden. Amazon.

Then, a cousin with whom he had been close for many years passed away due to illness. This loss brought deep sorrow not only to Sasaki but also to his relatives. As he searched for a way to reconnect emotionally after the shock of losing loved ones so suddenly, Sasaki acquired a wooden phone booth from a closed shop and placed it in his garden. He used it to send messages whenever he missed those who had passed away. This was in December 2010.

Not long after, on March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. Iwate Prefecture, where Sasaki lived, suffered from both tsunami and earthquake damage. The phone, originally created to heal his own family's grief, soon drew local disaster survivors who had lost loved ones in the earthquake. They began to ask if they, too, could use the phone. In response, Sasaki opened his garden to the public so that survivors could visit.

Sasaki himself also lost a colleague with whom he had worked. The colleague went missing during the tsunami and was found two months later. In his pocket was a note listing the names and phone numbers of Sasaki and other coworkers. Sasaki explained that the friend kept this note so he could call them anytime, as they often met for drinks. Sasaki used the phone he had built to tell his friend, "From now on, you have to join us whenever we drink."

When people called those they could no longer see, the wind blowing from the mountains felt like a response, which is how it became known as the "Wind Phone." As more people from all over Japan came to use the phone, its story gradually spread.

Next to the phone, Sasaki placed a notebook where visitors could write messages to their loved ones. Many people would come to make a call and end up sharing tea and conversations with Sasaki. Not only earthquake survivors but also people who had lost loved ones for various reasons came to visit. Thanks to this support, when the phone booth became badly corroded in 2018, donations from visitors helped replace it. In 2020, a film inspired by the Wind Phone was released and even won an award at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The Wind Phone installed in Connecticut, USA. My Wind Phone Instagram.

The Wind Phone has now spread beyond Japan to the rest of the world. After the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises such as wars, more and more people have expressed a desire to create their own Wind Phone. In 2022, one was installed in Warsaw, Poland, specifically because many people had died from COVID-19. Now, refugees who have lost loved ones in the Ukraine war regularly visit the phone there. Currently, there are Wind Phones installed in 400 locations across 17 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, France, and South Africa.

In the United States, an intermediary organization has even been established to introduce and help create Wind Phones in various countries. Last week, this organization reported that a grandfather in Connecticut had installed a Wind Phone by a lake in memory of his granddaughter, who passed away at the age of 26.

The question of how to remember those who have passed away is universal. The Wind Phone has begun to attract attention as a method of "grief care" for bereaved families. The desire to connect with loved ones who are gone, in whatever way possible, seems to be a sentiment shared around the world.