日本語のラブレター Japanese Love Letters by Married Couples

I want to share with you a few Japanese love letters by married couples.

They are real Japanese people who are married for many years. And the letters are for their spouses. Some of them are still alive. Others are now in heaven.

These letters are from the book I bought about 10 years ago. It’s called『60歳のラブレター』60-sai no Love Letter.

The book is a compilation of love letters from a husband to wife or a wife to husband, and it was published in 2000.

Background of the Book

On November 22, 2000, one of the major banks in Japan solicited love letters from married people to their spouses.

Why they chose 11/22?

11 is “eleven” but it can also read as “one one” = いちいち = いい (good)

22 can read as “two two” = ふうふう (ふう is ancient Japanese number for “two”) = ふうふ (married couple)

As a result, 11/22 became the Good Married Couple Day.

During the project, over 15,000 letters were submitted from all over Japan. They selected 165 love letters and compiled them into a book.

Real Japanese Love Letters

The book is full of love and appreciation expressed by people for their spouse after a long marriage.

Because they are a rather older generation, the language they use is very graceful and beautiful too.

I read some letters in the videos below. I provided English translation, so they will be a good reading practice for you too.

The English translation in these videos is to convey the general meaning of the letter. They are not word-to-word translations.

I hope you will still enjoy these words of love from real Japanese people. 💌

Can I Get the Book?

I couldn’t find this book on Amazon USA.

As I write this in 2021, you can still get the book on Amazon Japan or Amazon UK.

Amazon Japan: 60歳のラブレター

Amazon UK: 60歳のラブレター

How We Express Love

In Japanese culture, we don’t express our love with words as much as Western people do.

For instance, I’ve never heard my parents saying “I love you” to me in my entire life. Not even once.

Nonetheless, I have no doubt that they love me.

It is something I felt through my everyday life as I grew up. Their message of love was nonverbal. It was more through their actions or atmosphere they radiated.

You can read this post to learn more about how we express love to each other in Japanese culture.