Ellenika
2007-11-06, 10:11 AM
I have just found that my favourite Russian modern writer Boris Akunin was also a translator, and he translated my favourite Japanese writer, Mishima. I did not know that until now but I am so happy that he won Noma prize for translation. It is so interesting to know how he worked on his translations despite Mishima being branded as a fascist in the Soviet union and prohibited. congratulations to B. Akunin.
At the end of the article, it is written that the prize was given among others also to scottish translators. Are there japanese books in scottish? sorry for my ignorance.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200711030045.html
Russian mystery writer wins Noma Prize for his translation of Mishima classics
11/03/2007
BY MASAMI ONO
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
The bestselling Russian author Boris Akunin, the driving force behind an unprecedented mystery boom in his homeland, was recently awarded the 16th Noma Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature.
The award is a belated tribute to Akunin's translations into Russian of works by Yukio Mishima. Akunin, 51, devoted years during the Soviet era to what for him was a labor of love.
It had to be. Mishima had officially been branded a "fascist" by the communist rulers of the day. His works were banned, and at the time there seemed little hope the translations would ever be published.
"I wanted to use his novels as a vehicle to express my love for Japan," said Akunin at the prize ceremony in Moscow.
Akunin is a pen name that calls to mind the 19th-century Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin. To Japanese ears it's even more sinister--akunin in Japanese means villain. The translator's real name is Grigory Chkartashvili. His father is Georgian, though Grigory grew up in Moscow.
Akunin was 14 in 1970 when Mishima committed suicide by ritual disembowelment. It was a great shock. He went on to study Japanese literature at the University of Moscow, eventually becoming a specialist in the field.
"I lost interest in Mishima's ideology and the biographical facts of his life," Akunin said in an interview at his suburban Moscow home. "What fascinated me was his precise imagery, his psychological portrayals and his mastery of nuance."
With publication out of the question, "I was free to do the translations entirely for my own sake," he said. "Sometimes I'd rework a single sentence 100 times."
Perestroika, the gradual loosening of state control as the Soviet system entered its twilight phase, at last permitted publication of such Mishima classics as the novel "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" and the short story "Patriotism."
Akunin's translations have won high praise.
"He reproduces Mishima's artistic style in a Russian that does justice to the original," said University of Tokyo professor Mitsuyoshi Numano, a member of the Noma Prize committee.
What other Japanese writers does Akunin admire?
"I find myself drawn to the spare, poetic prose of Kenji Maruyama," he said.
He added: "I learned a good deal from Japan during the formative period of my life. For example, about simple, unaffected beauty. About the process of an undertaking being more important than the final result."
Regarding Akunin's own undertakings, translation is no longer on his list.
"What I could do [in that regard], I've done," he said.
Instead, in 1998 he launched his popular mystery novel series featuring detective and adventurer Erast Fandorin. As the series unfolds, Japan is increasingly present as both topic and setting. "I could never cut my ties to Japan," he said. "I hope to make as many readers as possible feel the love that I have for Japan."
His latest project is a hybrid called "roman-kino."
These "novel-movies," which fuse cinema and the printed word, reflect his persistent desire to break new ground.
The characters in the books are based on favorite actors, and as the plot proceeds, the action is interspersed with scenes from movies in which the actors have appeared.
The first work is due out in December.
The Noma Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature was established by Kodansha Ltd. to honor outstanding translations of Japanese literature. After presenting the first award in 1990, every two years, the publisher selects a target foreign language and presents the award to the most distinguished translator of Japanese literature in that language. Past awards have gone to Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Scottish and Spanish translators. The prestigious award includes a $10,000 prize and round-trip tickets to Japan contributed by Japan Airlines.
In 1990, the first recipient was John Bester for his "Acts of Worship: Seven Stories," a collection of short stories by Yukio Mishima. In 1995, Edward McClellan won the award for his translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's "Fragments of a Past." In 2003, the winner was Jay Rubin for his translation of Haruki Murakami's "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle."(IHT/Asahi: November 3,2007)
At the end of the article, it is written that the prize was given among others also to scottish translators. Are there japanese books in scottish? sorry for my ignorance.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200711030045.html
Russian mystery writer wins Noma Prize for his translation of Mishima classics
11/03/2007
BY MASAMI ONO
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
The bestselling Russian author Boris Akunin, the driving force behind an unprecedented mystery boom in his homeland, was recently awarded the 16th Noma Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature.
The award is a belated tribute to Akunin's translations into Russian of works by Yukio Mishima. Akunin, 51, devoted years during the Soviet era to what for him was a labor of love.
It had to be. Mishima had officially been branded a "fascist" by the communist rulers of the day. His works were banned, and at the time there seemed little hope the translations would ever be published.
"I wanted to use his novels as a vehicle to express my love for Japan," said Akunin at the prize ceremony in Moscow.
Akunin is a pen name that calls to mind the 19th-century Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin. To Japanese ears it's even more sinister--akunin in Japanese means villain. The translator's real name is Grigory Chkartashvili. His father is Georgian, though Grigory grew up in Moscow.
Akunin was 14 in 1970 when Mishima committed suicide by ritual disembowelment. It was a great shock. He went on to study Japanese literature at the University of Moscow, eventually becoming a specialist in the field.
"I lost interest in Mishima's ideology and the biographical facts of his life," Akunin said in an interview at his suburban Moscow home. "What fascinated me was his precise imagery, his psychological portrayals and his mastery of nuance."
With publication out of the question, "I was free to do the translations entirely for my own sake," he said. "Sometimes I'd rework a single sentence 100 times."
Perestroika, the gradual loosening of state control as the Soviet system entered its twilight phase, at last permitted publication of such Mishima classics as the novel "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" and the short story "Patriotism."
Akunin's translations have won high praise.
"He reproduces Mishima's artistic style in a Russian that does justice to the original," said University of Tokyo professor Mitsuyoshi Numano, a member of the Noma Prize committee.
What other Japanese writers does Akunin admire?
"I find myself drawn to the spare, poetic prose of Kenji Maruyama," he said.
He added: "I learned a good deal from Japan during the formative period of my life. For example, about simple, unaffected beauty. About the process of an undertaking being more important than the final result."
Regarding Akunin's own undertakings, translation is no longer on his list.
"What I could do [in that regard], I've done," he said.
Instead, in 1998 he launched his popular mystery novel series featuring detective and adventurer Erast Fandorin. As the series unfolds, Japan is increasingly present as both topic and setting. "I could never cut my ties to Japan," he said. "I hope to make as many readers as possible feel the love that I have for Japan."
His latest project is a hybrid called "roman-kino."
These "novel-movies," which fuse cinema and the printed word, reflect his persistent desire to break new ground.
The characters in the books are based on favorite actors, and as the plot proceeds, the action is interspersed with scenes from movies in which the actors have appeared.
The first work is due out in December.
The Noma Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature was established by Kodansha Ltd. to honor outstanding translations of Japanese literature. After presenting the first award in 1990, every two years, the publisher selects a target foreign language and presents the award to the most distinguished translator of Japanese literature in that language. Past awards have gone to Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Scottish and Spanish translators. The prestigious award includes a $10,000 prize and round-trip tickets to Japan contributed by Japan Airlines.
In 1990, the first recipient was John Bester for his "Acts of Worship: Seven Stories," a collection of short stories by Yukio Mishima. In 1995, Edward McClellan won the award for his translation of Eiji Yoshikawa's "Fragments of a Past." In 2003, the winner was Jay Rubin for his translation of Haruki Murakami's "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle."(IHT/Asahi: November 3,2007)