Wind Phones for Absent Friends

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

Itaru Sasaki, creator of the original Wind Phone, Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan

The original Wind Phone was created by Itaru Sasaki.  After his Cousin died, Sasaki set up an old telephone booth in his garden.  He would go to the disconnected phone and have one-way conversations with his cousin.  Even though there was no answer, talking on the Wind Phone helped Sasaki to feel connected to his cousin.  

After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, Sasaki opened the wind phone to the public to allow visitors to call their friends and family who had died in the disaster. Since then the Wind Phone has been visited by more than 30,000 people.

“Wind Phones offer a gentle invitation to pause, remember, and speak from the heart.

“Visitors are invited to pick up the receiver, dial a number, and speak with the one they miss. It is a place where grief is welcomed without judgment, where love is spoken freely, and where memories can breathe. Above all, the Wind Phone represents hope: the gentle, enduring hope that love continues, that connection remains, and that even death does not truly separate us.”

www.mywindphone.com

Wind Phones in Scotland?

Taking inspiration from the work of Itaru Sasaki, Wind Phones have slowly started to pop up across the World.  

In Scotland, there’s a Wind Phone in The Neuk Mental Health Crisis and Suicide Prevention Centre in Perth, and another at Balcary Bay in Dumfries & Galloway.  There may be more...

Wind Phones for Absent Friends

Would you like to set up a Wind Phone?

This year, as part of the To Absent Festival, we want to support the creation of more Wind Phones in Scotland.  

We have sourced five lovely vintage-style telephones and we’d like to send these to all corners of Scotland.  A remote island.  A busy city street.  A local park.  The top of a hill.  

Every Wind Phone is different.  That’s part of their charm.  This website has some helpful suggestions and pointers about how to create a Wind Phone, including advice on choosing a location and getting permission.

Host a Wind Phone

If you might like to provide a home for one of the Wind Phones for Absent Friends, please get in touch with samara@palliativecarescotland.org.uk to discuss ideas and find out more.

Photo credits

Original Wind Phone: Matthew Komatsu.  File:?tsuchi wind phone 5.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Orange phone image credit: Anne Spratt via Unsplash