Correspondence: A Japanese Epistolary Novella 2-1

akimi

Oct. 23, 2025

Correspondence: A Japanese Epistolary Novella 2-1

Second Exchange　part 1

Dear Takeshi,

It’s been raining every day lately—how have you been?

Were you able to make peace with your uncle?

I’m cheering for your dream, Takeshi. I truly believe that one day you’ll become a manga artist.

But I also understand your uncle’s feelings. I remember him once saying that Usagiya is a precious shop to him, and that he wants to keep passing down its traditional sweets and the smiles of its customers without interruption.

Deep down, I think he still hopes you’ll take over the shop someday, and that’s why he gets emotional—he just can’t let go of that hope.

I may have said too much. I’m sorry. You already know all this, and that’s exactly why you’re struggling—caught between your own dream and your family’s expectations.

But please don’t feel guilty for chasing your dream.

Your dream is truly wonderful.

Your manga has the power to bring happiness to people, just like the sweets from Usagiya.

As for me, I’m finally starting to get used to work bit by bit.

Everyone at my first workplace is kind.

The person teaching me is Ms. Iizuka—a tall woman with sharp eyes, about ten years older than me.

She’s incredibly capable, and doesn’t lose out to the men. Some people jokingly call her “the office queen.”

Especially the younger men—they’re genuinely afraid of her.

“Kyoko-chan, it must be tough,” “Poor you,” they say to me all the time.

But Ms. Iizuka is serious, responsible, and intelligent.

Even if her words are strict, I can tell she’s quietly looking out for me.

Everyone just misunderstands her.

Oh, by the way—did you open the package I enclosed?

It’s like magic, isn’t it? I was surprised when I found it too.

Just as you said, in that little town, you probably wouldn’t have found that manga no matter how many bookstores you searched.

I found it at a secondhand bookstore right near my workplace.

I knew right away it was the same book that used to sit on your shelf.

Though its condition doesn’t quite match the one you had—you took such good care of yours.

I wanted to surprise you, so I sent it without saying anything beforehand.

It’s a shame I won’t get to see your face when you pick it up.

It’s already cherry season, isn’t it?

Remember when we had a cherry pit spitting contest in the garden, in the gentle rain?

Every year, I’d get a basketful of cherries from my relatives’ farm, and it became my early summer tradition to bring half to your house.

And then, as always, I’d be invited in and treated to Usagiya’s sweets.

Just thinking about it makes me crave Usagiya’s bean daifuku.

Well then, until next time.

Please take care not to catch a cold as the seasons change.

Sincerely yours,

Kyoko
June 3, 1975

translationcreative writingepistolaryenglish practicenatural expressiontone check

en 2

Correct

Corrections

JeikNation

Correspondence: A Japanese Epistolary Novella 2-1

Second Exchange　part 1

Dear Takeshi,

It’s been raining every day lately—how have you been?

Were you able to make peace with your uncle?

I’m cheering for your dream~~, Takeshi~~.

Felt a bit redundant since the letter is to him. Nothing grammatical though.

I truly believe that one day you’ll become a manga artist.

But I also understand your uncle’s feelings.

I remember him once saying that Usagiya is a precious shop to him, and that he wants to keep passing down its traditional sweets and the smiles of its customers without interruption.

Deep down, I think he still hopes you’ll take over the shop someday, and that’s why he gets emotional—he just can’t let go of that hope.

I may have said too much.

I’m sorry.

You already know all this, and that’s exactly why you’re struggling—caught between your own dream and your family’s expectations.

But please don’t feel guilty for chasing your dream.

Your dream is truly wonderful.

Your manga has the power to bring happiness to people, just like the sweets from Usagiya.

As for me, I’m finally starting to get used to work bit by bit.

Everyone at my first workplace is kind.

The person teaching me is Ms. Iizuka—a tall woman with sharp eyes, about ten years older than me.

She’s incredibly capable, and doesn’t lose out to the men.

Some people jokingly call her “the office queen.”.

Especially the younger men—they’re genuinely afraid of her.

“Kyoko-chan, it must be tough,”

“Poor you,” they say to me all the time.

But Ms. Iizuka is serious, responsible, and intelligent.

Even ifwhen her words are strict, I can tell she’s quietly looking out for me.

Are her words strict all the time? or just sometimes? If all the time, then ignore this :))

Everyone just misunderstands her.

Oh, by the way—did you open the package I enclosed?

It’s like magic, isn’t it?

I was surprised when I found it too.

Just as you said, in that little town, you probably wouldn’t have found that manga no matter how many bookstores you searched.

I found it at a secondhand bookstore right near my workplace.

I knew right away it was the same book that used to sit on your shelf.

Though its condition doesn’t quite match the one you had—you took such good care of yours.--

Maybe combine the two sentences here.

I wanted to surprise you, so I sent it without saying anything beforehand.

It’s a shame I won’t get to see your face when you pick it up.

It’s already cherry season, isn’t it?

Remember when we had a cherry pit spitting contest in the garden, in the gentle rain?

Every year, I’d get a basketful of cherries from my relatives’ farm, and it became my early summer tradition to bring half to your house.

And then, as always, I’d be invited in and treated to Usagiya’s sweets.

Just thinking about it makes me crave Usagiya’s bean daifuku.

Well then, until next time.

Please take care not to catch a cold as the seasons change.

Sincerely yours,

Kyoko

June 3, 1975

akimi

Oct. 28, 2025

"Although its condition doesn’t quite match yours, given how well you maintained it."

Thanks for your feedback. I’ve made some changes based on it. Your advice was a big help, I’d be glad if you could continue offering suggestions.

JeikNation

Oct. 28, 2025

That works, but I was saying you could combine it with the following sentence as well.

"Though its condition doesn't quite match the one you had--you took such good care of yours--I wanted to surprise you, so I sent it without saying anything."
or
"Although its condition doesn't quite match yours, given how well you maintained it, I wanted to surprise you, so I sent it without saying anything."

Because when you start a sentence with although or though, it doesn't feel like a complete sentence. The sentence has no end. The "given how well you maintained it" or the "you took such good care of yours" is an aside, you don't need that part to make a full sentence, which is why it is in between dashes or commas. For example, you could say, "Although the condition doesn't quite match yours, I wanted to surprise you." or you could say "Though its condition doesn't match the one you had, I wanted to surprise you." These are full sentences, so the part in between is added in access. Therefore, the sentence must make sense when omitting the part inside the commas and dashes. But "Although its condition doesn't match yours" or "Though its condition doesn't match the one you had" are not complete sentences and can't stand alone, which is why you need to add something or combine with the sentence following it. :)

ThePeridot27

I remember him once saying that Usagiya is a precious shop to him, and that he wants to keep passing down its traditional sweets and the smiles of its customers without interruption.

Some people jokingly call her “the office queen.”.

I found it at a secondhand bookstore (right) near my workplace.

It’s a shame I won’t get to see your face when you pick it up. (open it).

Maybe "open it" could work better since that's when he'll realize what the package actually is.

Feedback

Wow! This is amazing! Everything flows so well. No grammatical mistakes, just the one suggestion I included. You have a very rich vocabulary - I cannot wait to read more!

akimi

Oct. 24, 2025

Thank you so much. Your suggestion was incredibly helpful. Thanks to you, I was able to notice something I wouldn’t have caught on my own.
As you pointed out, I agree that "open" works better than "pick up," and leaving out "right" was the right choice.
Also, the part that says "uncle" should actually be "father." I realized this later, but couldn’t manage to correct it properly. So I’m adding this note here.

This story is still ongoing, so if there's another opportunity, I’d love to hear from you again.

Your manga has the power to bring happiness to people, just like the sweets from Usagiya.