A Study of Japanese Literature's Translatability

Research Project

Project/Area Number	06610481
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	文学一般(含文学論・比較文学)・西洋古典
Research Institution	The University of Tokyo
Principal Investigator	OHSAWA Yoshihiro The University of Tokyo, College of Arts and Sciences, Professor, 教養学部, 教授 (00107418)
Project Period (FY)	1994 – 1995
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1995)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,500,000) Fiscal Year 1995: ¥1,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000) Fiscal Year 1994: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000)
Keywords	Natsume Soseki / "Ten Nights of Dream" / Translation Study / English Translation / Korean Translation / ナラトロジー
Research Abstract	This study has been able to show that there are remarkable differences between japanese literature and its translations both in English and Korean.The investigator initially focuses on the comparison between Natsume Soseki's "Ten Nights of Dream" and its English and Korean translations. Comparing two English translations and two Korean counterparts with the Japanese original, the investigator discovers noteworthy differences in principles of translation. Generally speaking, both English and Korean translations give top priority to the literary quality of translations and regard its faithfulness to the original as secondary, which is a rare phenomenon in Japanese translations. The investigator also discerns a strong unity of tense in Korean works of art by adopting a comparative viewpoint. The above-stated results have been published in the paper "The Seventh Night in Soseki's "Ten Nights of Dream" : A Comparison of the Japanese, English, and Korean Versions."