"The last profession I would recommend to anybody is translating contemporary Western plays," said actress-turned-translator Mayuko Tokizawa. The otherwise dissuasive comment is an encouragement coming from Tokizawa, cowinner of the eighth annual Yuasa Yoshiko Award, Japan's accolade for translators of foreign plays.
Despite her insecurity about the work, the 29-year-old sees translating as her calling thanks to her experiences both in Japan and the United States.
Tokizawa won the award -- the local equivalent of a Tony -- for her translations of "This is Our Youth" by U.S. director, screenwriter and playwright Kenneth Lonergan, and "The Weir" by emerging Irish dramatist Conor McPherson.