Translation as Subversive and Creative Practice: Japanese Literature in Communist Romania
| Project/Area Number |
20K12911
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Review Section |
Basic Section 02010:Japanese literature-related
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
Holca Irina 東京大学, 大学院総合文化研究科, 准教授 (40760343)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥260,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥60,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000)
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| Keywords | Japanese literature / translation theories / communist Romania / relay translation / poetry translation / translation studies / Eastern Europe / China / censorship / poetry anthologies / poetry / historical fiction / realism / other / translation / communism / Romania |
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| Outline of Research at the Start |
This project proposes new interpretations for Japanese literary texts-- from classics such as "The Pillow Book" to the proletarian novels of Tokunaga Sunao--, which were made possible via indirect translation into Romanian (from Russian, English, French), against the background of communist ideology and strict censorship, but also as a result of the discrepancies between the theories and practices of translation developed at the time on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
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| 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.
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| 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."
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Report
(4 results)
Research Products
(20 results)
