The wind phone

What is a wind phone?

We all grieve in different ways. When Itaru Sasaki’s cousin died in 2010, Itaru installed an old-fashioned phone booth in his garden so he could “call” his deceased relative and speak the words they’d lost the opportunity to share. The phone was not connected to any network, but Itaru was able to release his words of loss and longing – and the wind carried his words.

Months later, when the Fukushima earthquake and tsunami hit nearby, Itaru opened the phone booth to his neighbours, who urgently needed a place to express their grief. Word travelled quickly and pilgrims began to visit from across Japan to speak through the “phone of the wind” to those they loved.

Since then, wind phones have been created all around the world. They are usually old rotary phones, which evoke memories of times past and offer the tactile experience of dialing a number, though the phones are not connected. Often, they are in out-of-the way places where people can experience their inner grief while surrounded by nature’s beautiful rhythms of life, death, and regeneration.

In the Easter season of 2025, St. John’s installed a wind phone in the cemetery behind the church. It is available to everyone and can be accessed by way of the roadway at the east end of the church building. The cemetery is open between dawn and dusk. 

We thank Valley Hospice Foundation, Porter’s Custom Trophy and Engraving, Nicole Uzans, and Elmer Uzans for contributing to this project. 

Click here for more information about our wind phone.