About the Love Letter Ghostwriter
About Shintaro Kobayashi
Shintaro Kobayashi
Shintaro Kobayashi is a Tokyo-based love letter ghostwriter, poet, and essayist.
Since 2014, he has been working as a love letter ghostwriter, writing on behalf of others, and has written over 300 love letters to date.
His unique work has been featured in various media, including documentary programs, interviews, and magazines.
In addition to his work as a ghostwriter, he is also active as a poet and essayist, and has published two books commercially.
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Books
(Impress)
This book is based on a story originally posted on Storys.jp, a Japanese platform where people share personal stories.
It follows the daily life of a love letter ghostwriter who receives a wide range of requests, such as “I want to propose to my girlfriend in a long-distance relationship” or “I want to undo my divorce.”
Through these stories, the book portrays a ghostwriter doing his best to face each client sincerely and help convey their feelings.
(Sairyusha)
A poetry collection by a love letter ghostwriter who writes on behalf of people who want to express their feelings to someone else.
The requests he receives vary widely: letters confessing love to someone, letters ending a relationship with a partner, letters expressing gratitude to someone who has helped them, and more.
Because of the nature of this work, much of his activity is rarely made public. In this first poetry collection, he turns his experiences as a love letter ghostwriter, his everyday life, and the feelings of his clients into thirty-one-syllable Japanese poems.
Videos about My Work
What is “love letter ghostwriting”?
Love letter ghostwriting is a service for people who want to express their feelings to someone they care about but are unsure how to do so.
Many clients come to me because they feel things such as:
“I don’t know what to say,” or “I’m not confident that I can write something that truly reaches the other person’s heart.”
In these cases, I listen to their story, thoughts, and emotions, and then write the love letter on their behalf so that their feelings can be clearly and sincerely expressed.
How it all started
Since I was a child, I have always struggled to express my feelings directly in words—whether it was saying “I like you” or “thank you.” Because of that, whenever I wanted to convey my emotions to someone, I would turn to writing letters.
Even back then, before mobile phones became widespread, writing letters was already something special and not very common among people around me. As I grew older, communication became faster and more efficient, with emails, messaging apps, and various digital tools becoming the norm.
However, even in such a time, I often heard people—especially women in casual conversations—say, “I wish I could receive a love letter.” Hearing this repeatedly made me realize that, precisely because of this modern age, love letters carry a unique and special value.
At the same time, I thought that since many people had never written a love letter before, perhaps I could use my own experience to help express feelings on behalf of others. That was how I began this work.
In the beginning, I had no budget for promotion and no clear idea of how to start. So I created simple flyers that said, “I will write love letters for you,” and handed them out in the streets. Later, I built a basic website myself, which marked the true beginning of my work as a love letter ghostwriter.
About Love Letter Ghostwriting
Who asks for your service?
In terms of gender, about 60% of my clients are men and 40% are women.
Most clients are in their 30s (about 40%).
People in their 40s make up around 30%, and those in their 20s about 20%.
The remaining 10% come from other age groups.
The oldest client I have worked with was in his 80s.
How many letters have you written?
Over the past 12 years, I have written more than 300 love letters on behalf of my clients.
What kinds of requests do you receive?
Here are some examples of the requests I have received:
- A man who wanted to confess his feelings to a woman who worked at a bar.
- Someone who wanted to confess to a university professor.
- A woman who wanted to confess her feelings to a married man.
- A man who wanted help writing a breakup letter to his girlfriend.
- A man in his 60s who wanted to send a letter of gratitude to a woman he dated in his teens.
- Someone who hoped to reconcile with a former partner.
- A bride who wanted help writing the letter she would read at her wedding.
- A retirement speech expressing gratitude to colleagues.
- A fan letter to a favorite actor.
- A letter written for a one-year-old child to receive when they become an adult.
- A letter to a daughter whom the writer could no longer see after a divorce.
Memorable Experiences
There have been many unforgettable moments throughout my work.
One client asked me to write a letter — not to someone else, but to himself. He had grown up without parents and had never been praised. He wanted a letter that would affirm his own life and worth. That experience taught me how powerful simple words of acknowledgment can be.
Another time, a woman who had just given birth asked me to write a letter for her child to read on their 20th birthday. When I asked why she was writing it now, she said, “I want to preserve exactly how I feel right now.” It made me realize that letters are not only a way to convey feelings — they are also a way to preserve them.
There was also a man who had been in love with someone for ten years. He asked me to write a confession letter. I was struck by the depth and weight of emotions he had carried for so long.
These experiences have taught me that expressing feelings is important, but sometimes keeping them unspoken can also be a form of happiness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is the process until the letter is completed?
First, I meet the client in person to listen carefully to the feelings they want to convey and details about the recipient. After that, I take about two weeks to create a draft of the letter.
Q. How much does ghostwriting cost?
I charge ¥10,000(approx. $70 USD) per letter.
Q. Do you also handle letters other than love confessions?
Yes. I also handle various types of letters including gratitude, apology, reconciliation, breakup, and many others.