“I have become quite unable to keep from confessing…” | The Human Chair — Ranpo Edogawa | Audiobook

Every morning, after her husband leaves for the Foreign Ministry, the celebrated writer Yoshiko shuts herself in her study and reads the letters of admirers she does not know. One morning there is a bulky manuscript with neither title nor signature. It begins with a single word, “Madam,” and it is a confession: a poor, ugly chair maker tells what he did inside a great leather armchair he made for a hotel. This is “The Human Chair” (「人間椅子」), a short story by Ranpo Edogawa (1894–1965), first published in 1925. Japan Lit Lantern reads it aloud in a new English translation, with separate AI voices for the letter’s writer, Yoshiko and the others. Viewer note: the confession tells of secret, unwanted contact — a man hidden in a chair touches the people who sit on it, women among them, without their knowledge — and of theft and a fantasy of killing. It is fiction, presented as written; the conduct it describes is not presented as romantic. The original contains expressions of its time that may be considered inappropriate today. They are translated faithfully as part of the work. Japan Lit Lantern brings Japanese classics into English: newly translated, read aloud, and illustrated. Subscribe for the next story. Credits Original work: 「人間椅子」 (The Human Chair) by Ranpo Edogawa (江戸川乱歩, 1894–1965), first published in 1925 English translation: Japan Lit Lantern (new translation) Narration: AI voices (Google Cloud Text-to-Speech) Illustrations: AI-generated with Krea 2 Turbo (LoRA “Aesthetic Quality Modifiers – Masterpiece” by motimalu) Thumbnail and opening image: created with OpenAI image generation Ending jingle made with Suno. Ending card made with ChatGPT. Japanese source text: Aozora Bunko, card no. 56648 (file 56648_58207.html, input: 砂場清隆; proofreading: 湖山ルル), based on 『江戸川乱歩全集 第1巻 屋根裏の散歩者』 (光文社文庫, 光文社, 2004) https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/001779... Aozora Bunko card data is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Aozora Bunko is not affiliated with this video. English translation, narration and video © 2026 Japan Lit Lantern. No rights are claimed in Ranpo Edogawa’s original Japanese text. #JapaneseLiterature #JapaneseShortStory #Audiobook