Note: This story was originally published in 1918 as a serial in 大阪日日新聞 (Ōsaka Nichi Nichishinbun, "Osaka Daily Newspaper"), and can be found in 芥川 龍之介 全集, Akutagawa Ryūnosuke zenshū, "Ryunosuke Akutagawa's Complete Works", Tokyo, Iwanami shoten, 1995-1998. The original Japanese title of the story, 地獄変, is transcribed as Jigokuhen in the Revised Hepburn transcription, and means literally "strange hell", "odd hell". It is composed of 地獄, higoku, "Hell" and 変, hen, "strange, odd, funny".