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A public telephone quietly symbolizing the evolution of communication technology on a street corner

When I stepped into the public phone booth, I could feel the atmosphere of the area.
Almost every phone has graffiti inscribed with coins.
Like, dislike, stupid, sex, aye-aye umbrellas, etc.
What a person is, what it means to live, what is worthless, and the inorganic telephone expresses the unpretentious nature of a person.

 

Various advertising posters are posted inside phone booths. * Graffiti and the posting of unauthorized advertisements in public facilities, including public telephone booths, are prohibited by laws and ordinances aimed at protecting public property. Public phone booths were more than just a means of communication; they were like mirrors reflecting the community and people's lives. The public telephones installed in the city were indescribably dramatic.

  

“Ah, it’s almost time, um…see you tomorrow!”

A tone sounded indicating the end of the call, and with those words, the call was terminated. That is how it used to be with pay phones.
 
Unlike today, when smartphones make it easy to connect with anyone at any time, pay phones in the past only allowed calls to specific parties using coins or prepaid cards. The duration of the call was determined by the balance on the coin or card. When the balance runs out, a buzzer sounds to indicate that time is up. However, the joy of being able to hear the other party's voice in that short time and the relief that they were safe was immeasurable.
It was especially uplifting when calling a loved one.

At that time, most households had a landline telephone, and when you called, it was normal for your family to answer the phone first. Therefore, before talking to someone I like, it was not uncommon for me to do a ``conversation simulation'' where I thought about what I would say, assuming that an adult in the household would answer the phone.

Looking back, calling from a pay phone was a bit troublesome and inconvenient, but the elation at the moment of connection and the connection with the other party that deepened with each conversation were important experiences that I would like to carry on in this day and age. It made me feel a little nostalgic for the old form of communication, in which each time you inserted a coin, your feelings for the other person were conveyed.

There are fewer pay phones in town these days, but please check the location of your nearest pay phone.

If a large-scale disaster were to occur, it is easy to imagine that telecommunications infrastructure would be severely damaged, with power supplies cut off and mobile phone base stations stopped functioning.

Telecommunications companies that provide telephone services sometimes decide and announce that they will make public telephones free of charge, taking into consideration the scale of the disaster, the extent of its impact, the state of the telephone network, and emergency communication needs. .

The public telephone is a history of communication deeply rooted in our lives, a reliable technology that has remained unchanged over the years. Public telephones will exist all over the world. Different countries have different forms. We chose the Japanese public telephone as our art piece.