Genre, Translation, and Gender in the Japanese Classics: with Special Focus on Makura no Soshi and Heian Period Literature

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H07170
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Japanese literature
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Tsuneda Makiko 早稲田大学, 文学学術院, 助教 (20801781)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-08-25 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 翻訳 / ジェンダー / ジャンル / 中古文学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research, I attempted to reconsider the reception of Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book by exploring the history of its generic classification as a “miscellaneous writing” or “essay” (zuihitsu), and suggested instead that the Pillow Book should be considered in terms of its active usage, rather than its genre. This is because the Pillow Book played a part in the construction of female social norms.
I also examined Anthologie japonaise written by Leon de Rosny in 1871. In my papers, I argued that the characteristics of his translation make clear that his work implied the universality of human beings’ ideas, which is unusual considering the period. I also introduced its book reviews and other aspects of its reception that had previously not garnered any scholarly attention.

Free Research Field

中古文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

レオン・ド・ロニーの『詩歌撰葉』に関しては、これまで翻訳者ロニー自身への関心が主であり、その本文や翻訳方法の特徴、書評などについての具体的な考察はなされてこなかった。その意味で、洋の東西を問わず文学に共通性を見出そうとするロニーの姿勢についての分析、またその書評の紹介には、学術的な意義が認められるであろう。また、『枕草子』については、作品の機能面から考察しようとする姿勢が、新たな研究の視座を提案するものとして意義があるものと考える。