In the Arts | My Wind Phone

Wind Phones In the Arts

Wind phones, which originated as a Japanese cultural phenomenon, have captured the imagination of artists and creators in various fields. Itaru Sasaki created the concept of the Wind Phone in 2010 while grieving his cousin, who died of cancer. After the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011, Mr. Sasaki's wind phone became a symbol of remembrance, grief, and connection. The idea quickly grew into an art form representing both loss and a deeper spiritual connection to our loved ones who passed.

In the arts, Wind Phones have taken on several roles. Visual artists have drawn upon their symbolic value to create installations or sculptures that invite reflection on the themes of loss, memory, and the passage of time. The concept has also made its way into performance art, where the sounds of wind through the phone can evoke emotional resonance, sometimes paired with storytelling or dance to deepen the connection to themes of healing and human vulnerability. Moreover, in literature and poetry, Wind Phones have become a powerful metaphor for the fragility of life and how people try to stay connected to loved ones who are no longer physically present. It represents the yearning for connection, the notion of speaking to someone who cannot answer, and the idea that communication still occurs as long as we believe even in silence.

Wind phones are so appealing in art because they combine sound, visual elements, and the natural world with human experience. As part of installations or performances, they create an interactive space where people can reflect individually or share a communal experience. Ultimately, Wind Phones have moved beyond their original use as a way to mourn. They have become powerful symbols of reflection, communication, and hope.

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Literature

The Phone Book at the Edge of the World

by Laura Imai Messina

The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World by Laura Imai Messina is a deeply emotional and poignant exploration of loss, grief, and the unexpected connections that help heal a broken heart. Set against the backdrop of Japan's Tōhoku tsunami, the novel follows the journey of Yui, a woman who tragically loses her family in the disaster. In search of solace, she travels to the remote town of Ōtsuchi, where the original Wind Phone is placed where people grieving the loss of loved ones can make one-way calls to them as a means of finding peace.

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The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden

By: Heather Smith and Rachel Wada (Illustrations)

The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota's Garden is based on the true story of the wind phone in Ōtsuchi, Japan, created by artist Itaru Sasaki. Sasaki built the phone booth to speak to his late cousin, saying, "My thoughts couldn't be relayed over a regular phone line, I wanted them to be carried on the wind." After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami destroyed Ōtsuchi, claiming 10 percent of its population, the wind phone became a place where locals and visitors from other affected areas have gone to grieve and find solace.

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The Phone of the Wind” and Grief Care: To stay considerate of heart

Writer and Editor: Itaru Sasaki, Yuriko Yanaga

"The Phone of the Wind, the disconnected telephone, accepts all individualities, and visitors in deep sorrow are gently filled with tenderness. Home and abroad psychiatrists and specialists from various areas have validated visitors' messages to The Phone to the Wind and studied the grief process and care. This must be read especially by supporters of disaster care, bereaved families, and deathwatch." (Bell Gardia)

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The Phone of the Wind: 6 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake. What we can see through The Phone of the Wind

By: Itaru Sasaki

"The history of “The Phone of the Wind,” which conveys bereaved people’s thoughts about their loved ones who died in the Great East Japan Earthquake, and our activities to the present are introduced in this book. The writer is the one who has made “The Phone of the Wind."

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With the Phone of the Wind

By: Itaru Sasaki

"The author has since sought his own logic in his practical activities through “The Phone of the Wind”, which began with only a sense of sensitivity, asking questions such as ‘Why do people who have lost loved ones build a wall around themselves?’, ‘Why is it important to redirect our consciousness?’ and ‘How can we overcome grief and suffering?”. This book organizes previous writings and thoughts. It deepens understanding of the 11-year-long work of “The Phone of the Wind.”

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Calling the Wind: A Story of Healing and Hope

By: Trudy Ludwig (Author), Kathryn Otoshi (Illustrator)

"Inspired by Itaru Sasaki's Wind Telephone, which brought healing to the people of Japan in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami this story explores grief and loss and how we move forward by finding meaningful ways to connect with the family and friends we've lost, as well as those who are still with us."

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