Kurashi no Tomo, which means Friend of Your Life, invited the public to write “Letters from the Heart” to departed loved ones expressing hitherto unexpressed sentiments. A total of 771 entries were received between July and December 2008.

All of these letters were filled with words of gratitude as well as regrets and apologies because the senders had not been able to express their true feelings while their dearly beloved were still alive. We could sense in these letters that the senders had made their minds up to remain strong after they had sorted out their heart-felt feelings and expressed them in writing.

This spring, the Japanese movie “Okuribito (Departures)” won Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Annual Academy Awards. Because of this, we realized that despite cultural differences, mourning the loss of loved ones is a universal emotion.