Pathway to Japanese Literature

Discover Japan's stories—across time, across language.

Hypnotic SleepAuthor: Mori Ōgai

Original Title	魔睡
Author	森鴎外
Genre	Modern Short Fiction
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	Dr. Ōkawa Wataru, a renowned law professor, embodies unshakable calm and intellectual precision, effortlessly untangling complex disputes with razor-sharp logic. Yet beneath his composed exterior lies a man tormented by mundane tasks—packing for a discreet government investigation into corporate malfeasance becomes an exercise in meticulous control. His orderly world fractures when his wife returns from a medical consultation visibly distraught. A trusted colleague’s cryptic warning about Dr. Isobe, a respected neurologist, lingers ominously as she recounts a chilling encounter: Isobe’s unsettling hypnosis, her fragmented memory, and an unspoken violation that leaves her trembling. Ōkawa’s rational mind wars with visceral dread—could his pregnant wife have been manipulated? Trust erodes as he grapples with unanswerable questions about loyalty and deception. The incident exposes vulnerabilities in his marriage and profession, blurring lines between clinical authority and predation. As he departs on his mission, unresolved tension shadows him, hinting at psychological depths yet unexplored and a confrontation that could unravel his carefully constructed composure.