Memorial to Undelivered Mail

Zenkoji Temple
Nagano City, Japan

In Japan, even mail can have a spirit. An accompanying sign relates that approximately 1.8 million pieces of mail are lost in Japan each year¹, which makes for a lot of disgruntled mail spirits. This 1971 memorial, paid for by the postal workers of Japan, prays for the peaceful repose of all those "dead letters."

¹No surprise, given the complexities of the Japanese postal address system.