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二つの手紙

by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

Two letters to a police chief describe sightings of doppelgängers.

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Original language: JapaneseLevel: Intermediate3,521 characters · ≈ 14 minSource: 青空文库

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Sample: three-line reading

Each word has its meaning in this sentence underneath, and each sentence has a full translation. Read the original and glance down only when you need to.

あるa certain機会occasionでon (indicates the setting)予I (archaic first-person pronoun)は(topic marker)下belowに(marks location)掲げるshown/presented二つtwoの(possessive/linking particle)手紙lettersを(object marker)手に入れobtained/got hold ofた(past tense)
By chance, I got the two letters shown below.
一つはone (of them)本年二月中旬mid-February of this yearもう一つはthe other one三月上旬early March警察署長の許へto the chief of police郵税先払いでwith postage paid送られたwere sentものであるit is that (they were)
One was sent in mid-February of this year, the other in early March — they were sent to the chief of police, postage paid.
それをit (object)ここへto here掲げるdisplay / present理由はas for the reason手紙自身がthe letter itself (subject)説明するexplainであろうwill probably be / will be
The reason for showing them here, the letters themselves will explain.
第一のfirst (used before a noun with の)手紙letter
The First Letter

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About the book

This passage opens the story: the narrator has obtained two letters sent to a police chief, in which the writer insists he must confide a secret concerning himself and his wife, while repeatedly begging the chief to believe he is sane. The tone is deferential and rambling, carrying a sense of anxiety and urgency.

Cultural notes (selection)

Background a translation can’t carry: social roles, history and allusions. While reading, tap “Note” at the end of a sentence to see them all.

郵税先払い Customs

Means the sender prepaid the postage (affixing sufficient stamps) when mailing the letter, as opposed to 「後払」, where the recipient pays. This detail makes the letter seem like a real, properly sent object.

警察署長閣下 History

After the Meiji Restoration, Japan established a modern police system, with station chiefs in charge of public order in their jurisdictions; ordinary people could write to them with petitions or reports. 「閣下」 is an honorific for officials, and the letter's consistently formal honorific style is typical of how commoners addressed government offices at the time.

Doppelgaenger Allusion

The German word Doppelgänger, meaning "double" or "second self," refers to another person who looks exactly like oneself. In European folklore, seeing one's double was often regarded as an omen of death. Akutagawa inserts the original German word directly into the text and cites examples from German scholars.

About the author

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1 March 1892 – 24 July 1927), also known by his art name Chōkōdō Shujin, was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period who is regarded as the "father of the Japanese short story". He died by suicide at the age of 35 through an overdose of barbital, and Japan's premier literary award, the Akutagawa Prize, is named after him.

How the glosses are made

Word glosses and sentence translations are generated in context by AI models (DeepSeek and Zhipu GLM), and every word is checked to have a gloss. AI can make mistakes; you can report problems from the book page.

FAQ

Is this the original text?

Yes. The library holds the opening section of the public-domain original, taken from 青空文库.

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What level is it?

This one is marked “Intermediate”. Every word is glossed, so you can keep reading even with a small vocabulary.

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English and Chinese glosses are prepared in advance; signed-in readers can generate other languages.

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