Translation/Adaptation in the late Edo and English literature in the early Meiji: From the perspectives of Translation Studies

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K21632
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 2:Literature, linguistics, and related fields
• Research Institution: Sapporo University
• Principal Investigator: Sato Miki 札幌大学, 地域共創学群, 教授 (50507209)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-06-28 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 翻訳 / 翻案 / 翻訳学 / 翻訳研究 / 外国文学受容

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Using polysystem theory, an approach to translation studies, this study revisited the changes in the reception of Chinese vernacular novels in the early modern period, and revealed their relation to the other prose literary genres in the Edo era. It also considered the differences in the meaning of the concepts of ‘hon’yaku (translation)’ and ‘hon’an (adaptation)’ between the Edo and Meiji periods, and clarified that these differences were related to major changes in the Japanese literary situation around the 20th year of Meiji, such as the translation norms formed amidst the active reception of Western literature, the shift from Edo literature to modern novels with an emphasis on realism, and the movement for genbun itchi (the unification of speech and writing).

Free Research Field

翻訳学、比較文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究課題を通じて、時代や分野別に細分化される傾向がある文学研究を翻訳学の観点から近世の外国文学受容を横断的に分析することができ、翻訳学が文学研究の一つの方法論として有効であることを示したと考えている。また、現在使われている「翻訳」「翻案」という概念が近世や近代初期とは異なっている点を明らかにしたことによって、いわゆる「翻訳」を定義し直す必要性を認識できた。これは、特に2000年代以降多様化を示す外国文学受容のあり方を把握する契機になるものである。