The Transformation of Culture and the Contact with Foreign Languages in 19th Century Japan.

Research Project

Project/Area Number	06301047
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Co-operative Research (A)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	国文学
Research Institution	KYOTO UNIVERSITY
Principal Investigator	ASUKAI Masamichi Instite for Research in Humanities Prof., 人文科学研究所, 教授 (00027533)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	SAITO Mareshi Institute for Research in Humanities, Instructor, 人文科学研究所, 助手 (80235077) MATSUDA Kiyoshi Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Prof., 総合人間学部, 教授 (40027561) KIMURA Takashi Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Prof., 総合人間学部, 教授 (80065234) 平田由美大阪外国語大学, 外国語学部, 助教授 (60153326) 米井力也大阪外国語大学, 外国語学部, 助教授 (50178373)
Project Period (FY)	1994 – 1995
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1995)
Budget Amount *help	¥8,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥8,500,000) Fiscal Year 1995: ¥2,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000) Fiscal Year 1994: ¥5,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,700,000)
Keywords	19th Certury Japan / Contact with foreign language / Hyoko kiji / イソップ物語 / 二葉亭四迷
Research Abstract	The aim of this project is to examine how a great deal of translations, learning books of foreign languages and books on foreign affairs affected the culture of 19th century Japan, what role they playd in the transformation of Japanese language from the Edo era to Meiji. We first made a close study and annotated on Hyokokiji that is the first Japanese translation of the Dutch version of Robinson Crusoe. The notes that we made consist of three parts : Comparison with Dutch version, decipherment of its manuscript and contemporary examples of vocabularies that used in Hyokokiji. Through this work of the annotation, we have seen that the originality of Hyokokiji is derived from the difference of European and Japanese culture, and that there is much in common betweem the style and vocabulary of Hyokokiji and nonliterary writings. In addition, with the intention of enlarging our project, we have also begun studies on the translations of Aesop fables and on the works of Futabatei Simei.