Ginny Tapley Takemori discusses the process of translating Japanese literature into English — a somewhat forgotten art, but one that’s brought us the books of Japanese authors such as Yukio Mishima, Haruki Murakami and more recently a slew of new Japanese writers, particularly younger women such as Sayaka Murata and Mieko Kawakami.
Ginny is probably best known for her 2018 translation of "Convenience Store Woman," the bestselling novel by Sayaka Murata, which won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize when it was first published in Japanese in 2016. Like the original, the English translation was a bestseller, and the author and translator have collaborated again to translate Murata’s 11th novel "Earthlings," which was published at the beginning of October. We hear from Takemori about the art of translation and why she thinks we should all be reading more books from other cultures.
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Read more:
- Reviews of new and classical books in The Japan Times Books section
- In "Convenience Store Woman," Sayaka Murata questions normality in modern Japan (Nicolas Gating, The Japan Times)
- Sayaka Murata's 'Earthlings': Alienated misfits fight against the ties that bind (Kris Kosaka, The Japan Times)
- Strong woman, soft power (David Jacobson, GLLI)
- Order a copy of Earthlings (Granta)
On this episode:
Ginny Tapley Takemori: Author profile
Oscar Boyd: Twitter | Articles | Instagram
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