THE'”Post Office Adrift”, known in Japanese as *Hyōryū Yūbinkyoku* (漂流郵便局), is a unique installation located on Awashima Island, in the Inland Sea of Japan. Designed by artist Saya Kubota for the 2013 Setouchi Art Triennial, this post office welcomes letters that do not have a traditional recipient.
Although originally intended as a temporary project, the office quickly gained popularity, leading to hundreds of letters being sent from around the world, often addressed to deceased people, unrequited love or even future selves of the senders.
This symbolic place is managed by Nakata Katsuhisaa former local postal worker, who with dedication kept the office alive for over a decade. Thanks to his initiative, the Drift Post Office has become a sort of haven for emotionally charged messages and intended for out-of-the-ordinary recipients, such as “To dad, wherever you are” or “To myself tomorrow”.
The letters are stored in boxes suspended from the ceiling
Visitors are encouraged to leave their own letters, often on postcards, and these missives, stored in boxes suspended from the ceilingbecome tangible symbols of memories, hopes and feelings never expressed. The letters, in fact, are preserved in such a way that anyone who visits the office can read themcreating a community of shared stories.
If a visitor feels that a letter is particularly meaningful to him, he can take it with him, making this post office a place of connection through life experiences. The structure of the office itself is designed to reflect the concept of drift: the suspended mailboxes swing, as if they too were at the mercy of the currentssymbol of the message that never reaches a defined destination.
The popularity of the Drifting Post Office grew so much that over time they were added new collection pointssuch as a small office at Takamatsu Airport and even a temporary branch in London.
The messages sent continue to derive”, representing a unique concept that, despite having no practical objectives, has a significant emotional impact for anyone who relies on it. They are not simple pieces of paper, but real works of art that tell stories and they give a sense of comfort to those who read or write them.
The Post Office at the Drift is therefore a real installation of living poetry, a place where words travel aimlessly but with a strong impact on those who leave them or discover them, remembering that they are often the messages waiting, the ones that do not they find an answer immediately, a possess the deepest meaning.
