Translation has played an extremely important role in Japan from the early modern period to the present day. In a sense, translation represents the border at which different cultures meet, given that translation is the place where an idea present in one culture makes its way into another culture at the semantic level. Translation has also played an enormous role in the development of culture, especially literary culture; however, the cultural processes at work in translation still require additional study. The majority of most research into the history of translation in Japan has focused on when certain works of literature were translated, the ways that particular words or concepts were translated into Japanese, or the ways that translations from Western languages have shaped the development of the Japanese language. In addition, because French, Russian, and English-language literature have so profoundly influenced the development of modern Japanese literature, there has been a tendency in Japanese-language scholarship to emphasize the role of Western languages on Japanese, whereas the effects of translation from Chinese and other languages has not been sufficiently studied. In order to overcome these gaps in the research, it is necessary to examine translation as a historical phenomenon and to investigate the cultural history of translation. From the beginning of the Meiji era through the mid-Meiji era, even as translation was growing in importance, there were significant changes in the meaning of “translation” as well as in the ways in which it was done. The “translations” done by authors who were writing for a popular audience (such as such as Kuroiwa Ruikō) were perhaps closer to what one might today call an “adaptation” (hon’an) in that they took foreign works of literary and transplanted the ideas into the Japanese cultural sphere. In other words, in the late nineteenth and twentieth century, translations did not necessarily strive to transplant the words of foreign languages into Japanese faithfully; rather, they sometimes merely attempted to explain to Japanese readers the contents of foreign works. At the meaning of translation changed over time, the kinds of Japanese that translators would translate into also changed a great deal. At the beginning of the Meiji period, translators were translating into bungo (the pseudoclassical Japanese commonly used in literary language), but Futabatei Shimei’s appearance on the literary scene brought about a big change in the meaning of translation. In his Japanese translations of Turgenev (translated as “Aibiki” and “Meguriai”), Futabatei did not use ordinary bungo. Instead, he twisted the ordinary rules of Japanese and used numerous unusual expressions in an attempt to replicate the particular turns of phrase in the Russian original. Futabatei believed that through doing this, Japanese readers would be able to approach the culture and kinds of language used in the West. Futabatei’s translations influenced a number of modern Japanese writers, starting with Tsubouchi Shōyō and contributed significantly to the development of new types of literary Japanese. One could say that Futabatei’s translations were a step towards the language of genbun itchi. A number of interesting issues arise if one examines the changing ways that translations were done and the changes in the value of translation over time. What sorts of places did translation occupy within the changing concepts of “literature” during the modern period? How did the ways that Japanese translators engage in translation change? How did the sorts of Japanese that translators were using change over time? How did Japanese translators theorize the function and processes of translation? As time went by, what changes were there in the sorts of works that translators how chose to translate from other languages? In order to start to answer these questions, the International Research Center for Japanese Studies will be hosting a year long team-research project entitled “The Cultural History of Translation in Japan,” headed by Jeffrey Angles. The areas this research project will investigate can be subdivided into the following themes: (1) Translation Theory in Japan, (2) The Cultural Effects of Translation, and (3) The History of Translation as a Profession in Japan. ① Translation Theory in Japan a. This project aims to examine the history of translation theory from the late Edo period through the present day, by referring to the writings (essays, reflections, and other writings) of individual authors and translators about the theory and practice of translation. It will be necessary to examine the writings of Futabatei Shimei, Ueda Bin, Mori Ōgai and other prominent translators, but the purpose is not to write solely about the approaches of a handful of individuals. Rather, the purpose is to place these individuals within the larger context of the history of translation in Japan. b. One purpose of this project will be to uncover unknown articles, comments, and essays about translation theory and history. The project aims to examine the work of translators, such as female translators like Wakamatsu Shizuko, who have been overlooked by literary historians until recently, and to examine their contributions to the development of Japanese literature. ② The Cultural Effects of Translation a. One purpose of this research will be to determine who the field of Japanese literature was transformed through the choices of individual translators – or to put the idea a little more largely, to examine how translation helped shaped the development of the Japanese language itself. It is often said that translation is an engine that drives the development of linguistic and literary development. One could say this in the case of Japanese literature. b. It is also important to think about the ways that the concept of “Japan” changed as a result of translation. Indeed, one might argue that it was through translation that the outlines of “Japan” and the “Japanese language” become visible. When Ainu and Okinawan myths and narratives were first translated into Japanese, it created the illusion that the Ainu and Okinawans were incorporated into the nation of Japan as minorities. Also, when Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria, and other places were incorporated into the Japanese empire, there was an increased need for translation. It may be helpful to think about the ways that translation helped incorporated these outlying territories (gaichi) into the Japanese empire. Specifically, this project will look at the sorts of techniques of used in translating the work of the subjugated people into Japanese. ③ The History of Translation as a Profession in Japan a. How has the profession of the translator changed over time? b. What sort of status has Japanese society historically assigned to the translator? c. When did “translators” become separate from “authors”? (In modern Japan, there are many translators who do translation work but do not write their own original works.) d. Is there a difference in the type of literature that female translators and male translators have tended to translate? (It is necessary to delve into the differences between the culture of male translators and female translators in Japan.) e. How have the sorts of translations that Japanese society has valued changed over time? f. Is the era of the “famous translator” (meiyakuka) over? Are we living in an era that no longer believes in the idea of a “famous translation” (meiyaku)? g. What sorts of differences are there in the amount of money given by publishers for translations and for works that are not translations? h. Have translators always had the right to choose freely the works that they will translate? As copyright restrictions grew tighter in the postwar period, how has that affected the culture of translation? In recent years, there has been a boom in translation studies in the West that have described the cultural meanings of translation. This project hopes to draw on their work in answering the issues raised above.

Research Representative	Jeffrey ANGLES	国際日本文化研究センター・外国人研究員
Organizer	鈴木　貞美	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
Team Researcher	安藤　恭子	大妻女子大学・准教授
〃	井上　健	東京大学大学院総合文化研究科・教授
〃	江藤　裕之	東北大学大学院国際文化研究科・准教授
〃	大村　梓	東京工業大学大学院社会理工学研究科・博士課程
〃	Hugh CLARKE	早稲田大学法学部・客員教授
〃	鴻巣 友季子	翻訳家・作家
〃	佐藤＝ロスベアグ・ナナ	立命館大学衣笠総合研究機構・ポストドクトラルフェロー
〃	澤田　敬司	早稲田大学法学学術院・教授
〃	全　美星	神戸大学大学院人文学研究科・講師
〃	高橋　睦郎	詩人・評論家
〃	沼野　充義	東京大学大学院人文社会系研究科・教授
〃	宮下 惠美子	翻訳家
〃	リース・モートン	東京工業大学外国語研究教育センター・教授
〃	稲賀　繁美	国際日本文化研究センター・教授
〃	劉　建輝	国際日本文化研究センター・准教授
〃	堀 まどか	国際日本文化研究センター・機関研究員
〃	石川　肇	国際日本文化研究センター・プロジェクト研究員
〃	飯田　祐子	神戸女学院大学大学院文学研究科・教授
〃	伊井　春樹	財）逸翁美術館・理事
Team Researcher Overseas	Indra LEVY	Stanford University,Department of Asian Languages・Assistant Professor