A former postal facility in Japan that once processed mail now processes the grief, hope and longing of thousands of letter writers.
The Missing Post Office on Awashima Island receives 10-20 letters a day addressed to living and departed relatives, friends, pets, past selves, future selves, inanimate objects and more.
The idea began with artist Saya Kubota, who chose to use the decommissioned postal facility for a 2013 art project. Inspired by the island milieu, she thought of bottled messages washing ashore and invited people to mail messages of their own. She displayed the letters at the site during a monthlong arts festival.
The postal building, unused since 1991, was slated for demolition after the festival but its owner, retired postmaster Katsuhisa Nakata, negotiated with Kubota to continue with the project. It is now a tourist attraction on the tiny island, a 15-minute ferry ride from the mainland in the Seto Inland Sea.
Every other Saturday, the Missing Post Office opens to the public, where visitors can read the letters or write one of their own. Nakata, 90, serves as manager.
“This is a place where all kinds of emotions from people’s lives arrive — the saddest moments and happiest moments. We’re here to receive and acknowledge these emotions,” Nakata told The Washington Post this month.
Both letters and postcards are accepted, and a return address is unnecessary. Submitters are advised that letters will not be returned, and the copyright is assigned to the Missing Post Office. The address is:
[Name of intended recipient]
c/o The Missing Post Office
1317-2 Awashima Takuma-cho, Mitoyo-shi, Kagawa-ken
JAPAN 769-1108
