2007 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Establishment and Development of the Adaptations for "Girls" : Libraries of Translated Works for Children and the Consciousness of "Gender"
| Project/Area Number |
18520258
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Literatures/Literary theories in other countries and areas
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| Research Institution | Chiba University |
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Principal Investigator |
SATO Motoko Chiba University, Faculty of Education, Professor (40162490)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2006 – 2007
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| Keywords | literature for children / girls / gender / translation / adaptation / libraries / comparative literature |
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| Research Abstract |
(1) Through surveying the conspicuous libraries for girls appeared in postwar Japan, it is confirmed that those fix the word "girls" published by three principal companies in the field of children's literature emerged during the period from the 1950s to the 1970s. There was another noteworthy library for girls in that period: "Selected Masterpieces of World Mysteries, for Girls" in 30 volumes published by Kin-no-Hoshi-sha. The examination of that series revealed that the translators/adapters of those days embodied the desirable girl image in their pieces according to the basic idea of the democratic society after the Second World War. On the other hand some translators/adapters also depicted the pitiful female image in their renderings.
(2) Active girl image can be traced back to the translations/adaptations of the prewar period. One typical case was Sato Koroku's "Midori no Tenshi", which was adapted from Oliver Twist by Dickens. The original female characters were transformed to the active girls who had a sense of justice and true courage as boys usually expected to have. But then, in the final analysis, active girls ended up marrying.
(3) Kato Takeo's adaptation of Little Lord Fauntleroy by Burnett shows that one type of ideal "married woman" is "wise daughter-in-law".
(4) Libraries of translated/adapted works for girls had, thus, the clear intention to educate the readers to be suitable persons in those days. It will be necessary to examine those kin of libraries not only for girls but also for common young readers in order to clarify what was expected to acquire.
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