May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 9 Editor's note: It's mind-blowing how instantly global we've become. A little more than a week ago UK blogger Zoe Toft (Playing by the Book) posted an interview with translator Avery Fischer Udagawa, who is the contributor of today's post. Avery, by the way, lives in Bangkok, … Continue reading Excerpt from Eto Mori’s DIVE!!
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 7 (part 2) Editor's Note: This is the second part in a two-part series about the recent publication of. Ryōma! The Life of Sakamoto Ryōma: Japanese Swordsman and Visionary. Ryōma! is the first English translation of Shiba Ryōtarō’s legendary best-seller Ryōma ga yuku, which has sold more than 24 million … Continue reading Translator Roundtable on Shiba Ryōtaro’s Ryōma!, part 2
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 6 (part 1) Phyllis Birnbaum: I am very happy to announce the publication of Volume I of Ryōma! The Life of Sakamoto Ryōma: Japanese Swordsman and Visionary. This is the first English translation of Shiba Ryōtarō’s legendary best-seller Ryōma ga yuku, which has sold more than 24 … Continue reading Translator Roundtable on Shiba Ryōtarō’s Ryōma!, part 1
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 5 (part 2) For part 1 in this two-part piece, see May 4: Eve Kushner on kanji’s punning potential (Japan-in-Translation, No. 4) Mishima's Mischief Japanese writers choose whether to render terms in kanji (also known as Chinese characters because they came from China), or in its two phonetic … Continue reading Mishima’s Mischief — Eve Kushner on Kanji and Translation, part 2
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 4 (part 1) With my project Joy o' Kanji, I'm writing one essay about each of the 2,136 Joyo kanji, the characters the Japanese use in daily life. In the essays I explore all facets of a kanji, including its readings, the evolution of its shape and … Continue reading PUN POTENTIAL — Eve Kushner on Kanji and Translation, part 1
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 3 Editor's update: A new source of interesting links, history and news about Japanese literature and Japanese literature-in-translation can be found at redcircleauthors.com. See, in particular, its "factbook," which it describes as a "Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts." Red Circle calls itself a hybrid … Continue reading NOTES ON MEMORABLE TRANSLATIONS — BY TRANSLATOR DEBORAH IWABUCHI
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 2 Editor's note: Even in 2018, many conversations about Japan begin by mentioning the nation's homogeneity before going on to discuss a group or individual who appears to be an exception. Japan is filled with such “exceptions,” however, and even the tiny percentage of Japanese fiction published … Continue reading OUTSIDER STORIES IN CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE FICTION — by Kathryn Hemmann
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 1 Editor's note: Today begins a month-long series of posts about Japanese literature in translation. Here in the United States it is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, and in Japan (through this weekend, anyway), it is Golden Week, the longest vacation period of the year for many Japanese workers. … Continue reading THE MIRROR OF HIS WORKS — Roger Pulvers on Ishikawa Takuboku
'Hiroshima Child' I come and stand at every door But none can hear my silent tread I knock and yet remain unseen For I am dead for I am dead I'm only seven though I died In Hiroshima long ago I'm seven now as I was then When children die they do not grow My … Continue reading ‘Hiroshima Child’ a poem by Nazim Hikmet
In mid-2002, a group of language professionals living in Japan began to discuss the need for a new kind of publisher—one that could serve readers in English and Japanese, with titles meant for both general and specialist markets. Reflecting the skills and interests of its founding directors, Kurodahan Press first offered books relating to Japan, … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Kurodahan Press
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