OTSUCHI, Iwate Prefecture--A man who helped ease the pain of thousands of people who lost their relatives or friends in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami is seeking a replacement for a telephone booth to “call” their loved ones from.
“I am not sure it will last until the end of this year,” said gardener Itaru Sasaki, 73, referring to the aging wooden booth whose parts adjoining its base are particularly decayed.
“I am hoping to replace it with a corrosion-resistant aluminum-made one. Can anybody offer me an old telephone box?”
The telephone box, known by the name Kaze no Denwa (phone of the winds), is about to fall apart.
Sasaki originally came up with the idea for installing a telephone booth for members of his extended family after a relative passed away due to disease in 2009. It was meant to allow grieving kin to pour out their feelings by calling the deceased.
He obtained the wooden box from a closed pachinko parlor and put a black, disconnected rotary dial telephone inside and installed it in his garden.
Sasaki mounted the roof on the structure and took care of the area around the box to make users comfortable.
He was about to put his finishing touches to the box in early 2011. Then the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami struck Iwate and neighboring prefectures in the Tohoku region on March 11, and Otsuchi was hard-hit.
Sasaki persevered with the project, however, and when the telephone booth was completed in April that year, it began drawing hordes of people desperate to connect with the dead after they learned of the telephone through local media or word of mouth.
A notice inside the booth reads: “Who do you want to talk with? Kaze no Denwa will put your heart through.”
More than 26,000 people have visited the box over the past seven years, most of whom lost relatives in the disaster.
The remainder include people who cannot see their family members or friends for other reasons.
The telephone booth was originally built for indoor use, so it was vulnerable to the elements.
The deterioration of its wood and corrosion of its metal parts has progressed too much for it to be left standing outdoors, although Sasaki reinforced the structure by giving it a new coat of paint and making other repairs.
The booth also was damaged when it was blown away by strong winds in January 2015.
Sasaki is hoping to get a replacement so that the telephone will continue to help callers alleviate their sense of loss.