Translation and Translation Studies in the Japanese Context

Japan is often regarded as a 'culture of translation'. Oral and written translationhas played a vital role in Japan over the centuries and led to a body of thinking and research rooted in a context about which little information hasbeen available outside of Japan in the past. Thechapters examine the current state of translation studies as an academicdiscipline in Japan and a range of historical aspects (e.g., translation of Chinesevernacular novels in early modern times, the role of translation in Japan'smodernization, changes in stylistic norms in Meiji-period translations, 'thicktranslation' of indigenous Ainu place names), as well as creative aspects oftranslation in modern and postwar Japan. Other chapters explore contemporaryphenomena such as the intralingual translation of Japanese expressions embeddedin English texts emanating from diasporic contexts, the practice ofpre-translation or writing for an international audience from the outset, theinnovative practice of reverse localization of Japanese video games back intoJapanese, and community interpreting practices and research.

1. A Survey of Translation Research in the Japanese Context, Kayoko Takeda \ 2. Situating Translation Studies in Japan within a Broader Context, Judy Wakabayashi \ 3. A Nagasaki Translator of Chinese and the Making of a Literary Genre, Emiko Okayama \ 4. Translation, Power, Postcoloniality: Fukuzawa Yukichi's Translation of the West, Akiko Uchiyama \ 5. Translational Norms in the Meiji and Taisho Periods and the Formation of Modern Japanese Literature, Akira Mizuno \ 6. On Creative Aspects of Translation in Modern and Postwar Japan: Hemingway, Proust and Modern Japanese Novels, Ken Inoue \ 7. Translating Culture—Ainu Oral Tradition to Japanese, Nana Sato-Rossberg \ 8. Japanese in Shifting Contexts: Translating Canadian Nikkei Writers into Japanese, Beverley Curran \ 9. Pre-Translation in Modern Japanese Literature and What It Tells Us About ‘World Literature', Irmela Hijiya-Kirschner \ 10. Transcreating a Japanese Video Game, Minako O'Hagan \ 11. The Present Situation of and Challenges for Community Interpreting in Japan, Makiko Mizuno \ Bibliography \ Index