Translation as Subversive and Creative Practice: Japanese Literature in Communist Romania

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K12911
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 02010:Japanese literature-related
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Holca Irina 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 准教授 (40760343)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: Japanese literature / translation theories / communist Romania / relay translation / poetry translation

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project focused on the translation of Japanese literature and the perception of "Japan" in communist Romania. It covered materials related to Japan published in magazines, as well as in book form, analysing the ways in which direct/ relay translation and anthologising from Russian, but also English, French, etc, has shaped the image of Japanese literature/ Japan. In Romania, under communism, the "West" was constantly reviled as "decadent" and imperialistic, but at the same time it was a necessary route of access towards "minority" languages and cultures such as Japan's. As a result, even while western ideologies were being rejected on the surface, Japan's image had to be constructed through a "Western" filter. This research has clarified how Romanian translations of Japanese literature, along with the accompanying discussions about translation methods, acted as a locus of dialogue between East and West.

Free Research Field

modern Japanese literature, translation studies

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

This research sheds light on an insufficiently researched side of cultural exchanges, i.e., between "minority" languages and cultures (Japan& Romania) under different ideological regimes (capitalism& communism), analysing how Romania shaped its image of Japan via the ideologically different "West."