Sessions

This presentation concerns a large translation project by our center,on Yasuoka Masahiro’s book Nihon Seishin no Kenyuu, originally published before WWII. The sponsor was the Honolulu Foundation, an affiliate of the Kansai Shiyuu Kyoukai that centers on Yasuoka’s life and work. The Kyoukai and the Foundation are devoted to presenting and promoting Yasuoka’s philosophy, as he was active both before WWI and afterwards, serving as an advisor to several Prime Ministers.

I will first address briefly the administrative challenges of the project and then move on to a discussion of various aspects of the translation that represent/present interesting issues, both on the language and the literary side that demanded close attention.
Our role became one of communicating as effectively as possible Yasuoka’s ideas to the satisfaction of both the client and the readership. For this purpose, collaboration among people with various backgrounds was key, and contributed much to our own understanding of the promise of sharing knowledge in achieving a smooth transmission of rich ideas.

I selected this topic for presentation since I have always been interested in “the translator as communicator” as Daniel Gile would put it. Translation has many aspects to it, and can be defined in many different, valid ways. This project especially raises questions about the nature of translation. One writer who stimulated a lot of thought in this regard was RH Blyth, who stated:

“Poetry is not the words written in a book, but the mode of activity of the mind of the poet.”

...a good starting point to reflect on the impact we might make in translating.

Speakers