In a sea of communal sorrow over those who died and stayed missing, how can design form resorts to cater the singularity of one's personal grief?

The wind telephone, an installation in the northern part of Japan that was heavily hit by the Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011, is an intervention that facilitates individual grief through pilgrimage and has been widely recognized for its positive effect on grieving individuals in the aftermath of a disaster.

Pushed by personal grief, landscape designer Mr. Sasaki erected the booth in 2010 in his garden to create a space in which he could connect with his late cousin with whom he used to connect regularly over the phone. Whenever he missed those conversations, he went into the phone booth, picked up the receiver from the unconnected rotary dial phone and reestablished the connection and verbalized his feelings. After the Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 he invited survivors to visit the private space over the bay of Otsuchi and relax in the family´s garden.

In 2016, the design was opened up to a global audience. The Japanese Broadcast program NHK interviewed visitors and followed their stories, and shortly after, those were translated for a podcast episode of This American Life and made accessible to an English speaking audience. It has since been visited by tens of thousands people, both coming to mourn and research the phenomena, and has since been turned into a film.

The accidental design combines several factors important for the processing of grief.

Medium. The phone booth is a relatable object that combines the space with an action that is familiar to the visitor and brings up memories of a direct connection and communication with the diseased one. The adaptation of everyday communication breaks the taboo of speaking with the dead. According to psychotherapists, the booth is a form of expression therapy without a therapist, as it evokes audible expression which requires cognitive processing and helps the individual to reflect and heal.¹

Space. The booth provides a secluded safe space, a personal memorial space that connects this world with another. It can remind of a Catholic confessional in which its visitor can express thoughts and emotions, also those that might be less socially acceptable.²

Pilgrimage. According to Mrs. Sasakai, not many people from the town itself come to visit the phone booth. The aspect of pilgrimage and anonymity seems to be an important element in the effect of the place. Many visitors are regulars that use that journey as a moment to dedicate time and thought to the ones they loved, away from their daily realities.