What Gets Lost in Translation: Struggling with "Suddenly"

Blue Suddenly, Mira Schor drawing, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mira_Schor_Blue_Suddenly.jpg


Anna Zielinska-Elliott writes:

As I am working on the translation of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki, I am reminded of what Edward Seidensticker wrote once in an essay titled, On trying to translate Japanese (in J. Biguenet and R. Schulte, eds., The Craft of Translation [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989]):

         I have spoken of oh's and ah's and blubbering. They bring us to the
         essential fact that Japanese is a very wordy language. Let anyone
         who does not think so try reading one of the bracket-school
         translations: he will find innumerable drones wandering free. "Now
         that is a fact" at the end of every sentence is one example; the
         remarkable number of adverbs, the nearest English equivalent to
         which is "suddenly," but which actually do not mean anything at
         all, is another. (152)

While there are no "oh's" and "ah's" in Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki, I am finding myself struggling with how to translate the many different suddenly's.  Unlike Edward Seidensticker, I am not suggesting that they don't mean anything, but simply that compared to Polish, Japanese has a lot of words meaning "suddenly." This means that many nuances of different "suddenly's," unexpectedly's" or "abruptly's" must get lost when translated.  It must have been the case in all the books I have translated before, but for some reason I have only fully realized it now. Checking one of the online dictionaries, http://ejje.weblio.jp/, after putting in "suddenly" we get this impressive list:
驀地に；矢庭に；出しぬけだ；唐突だ；出し抜けだ；突然；ぱっと；急遽だ；カラッと；がばと；俄かだ；見る間に；頓に；やにわに；にょいと；行成り；ふいと；くっと；はっと；にょっと；がたっと；俄だ；行成；ぱたっと；見るまに；ころっと；突如；つと；がぜん；ついと；俄然；ひょいと；突として；忽たる；急に；疾く；突如たる；いきなり；ぽっと；からっと.

Dutch Translation of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki to Appear in January 2014

Atlas Contact has announced the upcoming publication of the Dutch translation of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki. The book is being translated by Jacques Westerhoven and is to appear on January 12, 2014 to coincide with the author's 65th birthday.

De kleurloze Tsukuru Tazaki en zijn pelgrimsjaren 

Haruki Murakami

€ 19,95Niet beschikbaar

• Paperback
 
• ISBN 9789025442071
 
• januari 2014

To see the whole ad go to the publisher's page: http://www.atlascontact.nl/boek/de-kleurloze-tsukuru-tazaki-en-zijn-pelgrimsjaren/

Visualizing Translation #2

In the last chapter of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki, Tsukuru sits waiting at platform 9/10 at Shinjuku station and observes an E257 express train bound for Matsumoto getting ready to depart. In the previous post, we included an artist's rendering of the scene, but the train in the picture was not right: it was an old local train, not an express.  If you have been following this blog, you would have noticed a post of June 10th, which included a picture of the train described in the book. This time we thought we would post a short clip of the train's departure taken in the evening at platform 9/10 in Shinjuku.  Perhaps this will allow readers (and other translators?) to visualize the scene better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6MNDRqOOCQ

In the next clip, we can see the tail lights of the train disappearing in the distance, as they do in the novel. This is an important image, as it appears in the very last sentence of the novel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGwcfq2G7Fk


For train enthusiasts, there are many more videos of the same train:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCmN45fAOYw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPCo9D-dPvI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkLNN-XVQzU&feature=endscreen

More Visualizing...

This is an artist's rendering of Tazaki Tsukuru sitting at Shinjuku Station (?) and looking at trains, which happens to be one his favorite things to do. However, there are some issues with the accuracy of the depiction, which we will address in the next post.

http://ch.yes24.com/Article/View/22424

A 2007 Interview with the Korean translator of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki.

Here is an old (but interesting) interview with Yang Ŏk-Kwan, the translator of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki. (Readers who don't read Korean can use our handy Translate widget.) 

수담 즐기는 일본문학 전문 번역가 양억관

흑백의 뚜렷한 상징, 그 안에 모든 게 있죠

쌍꺼풀진 두 눈이 부리부리하다. 부드럽게 접히는 눈매의 주름이 아니라면 조금쯤 무섭게 느껴질까. 그렇진 않을 것 같다. 가수 케니 로저스가 면도를 하면 저렇게 되지 않을까 싶은 하얀 잔디 같은 구레나룻과 수염, 부드럽게 각진 턱을 가진 큰 바위 얼굴이다(어린시절 교과서에서 본 큰 바위 얼굴은 좋은 사람이었다).

사실, 처음 그를 봤을 때 조금 놀랐다. 내가 잘 아는 누군가를 몹시 닮았다는 생각 때문이었는데 실은, 내가 잘 아는 누군가가 아니고 직접 대면한 적은 없지만 워낙 유명한, 나도 좋아하는 만화가를 닮은 것이었다. 일본문학 전문번역가 양억관 씨. 그는 어디를 가나 똑 같은 하나의 질문과 하나의 감탄을 듣는다.

“반갑습니다. 이현세 씨 맞죠?”

“아닌데요. 전 양억관이라고 합니다.”

“아이고, 죄송합니다. 근데 이야, 정말 많이 닮으셨네요.”

“아, 네···.”

To read the whole interview go to:
http://www.cyberoro.com/column/column_view.oro?column_no=2555

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki released in Korean 4 days ago! (how did we miss it...?)

The Korean translation of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki was published on July 1.  As far as we know, it is the first translation of the novel into a foreign language. 

Claire Lee from Korea Herald writes (without mentioning the name of the translator, but we believe it is Yang Ŏk-Kwan) :

Murakami’s latest novel tops bestseller lists on day of its Korean release

The Korean edition of famed Japanese writer Haruki Murakami’s latest novel “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage” topped the local bestseller lists on the day of its release Monday. 
The book was released on Monday morning and instantly topped the local bestseller lists of major online bookstores, including Yes24, Kyobo Book Centre and Aladdin. According to Yes24, some 3,500 copies had been preordered since June 24.

Kyobo Book Centre’s Gwanghwamun branch, on the other hand, was the first bookstore to sell the Korean edition of the novel at noon on Monday.

“We have sold about 4,850 copies so far,” said Jin Young-kyun from Kyobo Book Centre at 2 p.m. on Monday. “This number includes the online preorders, which were about 3,000, as well as some 1,000 copies of Japanese editions. It seems like some local readers decided to purchase the Japanese editions earlier as they didn’t want to wait for the Korean edition’s release.”

The book’s Korean publisher Minumsa reportedly competed fiercely with the nation’s top publishing houses, including Munhagdongne Publishing Group and Gimmyoung Publishers, to secure the rights to publish the Korean edition of the novel.

Minumsa declined to disclose how much it paid for the rights, but it has been reported by the local media outlets that the Korean publishing house paid at least 150 million yen ($1.5 million).

Minumsa said among the 200,000 copies it has printed, 180,000 had been pre-ordered by local bookstores prior to the official release date, July 1. The publishing house is printing an additional 50,000 copies, Minumsa said. 

To read the whole story go to:

http://m.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130701000878&ntn=1

Visualizing Translation: What Does Ao (Blue?) Look Like?

Anna Zielinska-Eliott who is currently working on the Polish translation writes:

When translating we often try to visualize people and places the author describes.  Having an image in one's mind can somehow help find the right words.  Or at least it helps me.  Yesterday, I talked on Skype to my Japanese friend, K. I asked her a few questions about Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki, since K. has just started reading the book. I wanted to know what exactly does a dosshiri shita nose look like.  This is how the nose of  Ao (Blue?) is described on page 9.  My friend said that when reading about Ao, she imagined him looking like Atsushi Ōyagi, a famous Japanese rugby player, who later became a sports commentator, a TV personality and an educator.  So I looked again at the description of Ao in the book: Ao also is  rugby player, has broad shoulders, a massive chest, a wide forehead, a big mouth and a dosshiri shita nose.  He is a very enthusiastic player, who knows how to get the team pumped.  He always plays aggressively and often gets hurt.  

This is what Atsushi Ōyagi looks like now, and what he looked like as a young man. In his mid-thirties Ao is a Lexus salesman.  Can you imagine the man in the picture below as a luxury car salesman? Of course, Ao would have been much younger, since Atsushi Ōyagi is now 52, but still the contrast between a former rugby player and a Lexus salesman in a nice suit (but still with short hair) seems to work in these two pictures the same way as it does in the book. 

   

http://www.pressnet.co.jp/osaka/kiji/120602_23.shtml

Next I asked K. about the size of iwa (rock, crag) in a description of a "mental landscape" on page 41, where we read" "Mawari o mimawasu kagiri, arabureta iwa darake no tochi datta." I wanted to know how big the iwa were in her mind, when reading this sentence. Was it a "rocky" place? Or were there big boulders? K. said: "Oh, it sounds like Onioshidashi." Onioshidashi is a nature park in Gunma prefecture. (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/鬼押出し園). Here is what it looks like: 

http://infoindonesia.blog17.fc2.com/blog-entry-2273.html

　 

Granted, these are K.'s images, but since I didn't have any clear ones in my own head, I am going to go with hers for now. 

A Review of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki from Japanese Literature Publishing and Promotion Center

On Haruki Murakami’s New Novel: Liszt’s “Years of Pilgrimage” Turned Extravaganza

It’s not unusual for the title of a Haruki Murakami work to refer to a piece of music. “Norwegian Wood,” for example, or “South of the Border, West of the Sun.” Even when the title makes no such overt reference, music may be featured memorably in the narrative itself, as with Leoš Janáček’s Sinfonietta in Murakami’s previous novel, 1Q84.

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, his latest novel released on April 12, 2013, contains the following passage:

“As they’re listening to a piano recording, Tsukuru realizes he’s heard it a number of times before. He doesn’t know the title. Nor who the composer is. It’s a quiet, mournful piece. A leisurely opening theme of strong single notes. Then a softer variation. He looks up from his book and asks Haida, ‘What’s this music?’” (p. 62)

Tsukuru Tazaki’s friend Haida identifies it as “La Mal du Pays” from the first of Franz Liszt’s three suites known collectively as Years of Pilgrimage, played by the pianist Lazar Berman.

(...)

As a key part of its marketing strategy, Bungeishunju successfully maintained a strict veil of secrecy about the content of the story. The first newspaper ad for the book, which appeared on February 16, stated only that a new novel by Haruki Murakami would be released in April—without even naming the title. The title was subsequently revealed, along with a few quotes from an author interview, but otherwise everything about the book was kept under wraps, including its cover design. Following the example of Shinchosha with 1Q84, no bound galleys were sent out, nor were any book signings scheduled. As I write this on April 18, the full text of the author interview has yet to be released, nor have there been any articles or video footage about it in the media.

The obi band wrapped around the cover of the book offers the following quotation “from an interview with the author”:

“On something of an impulse one day, I sat down at my desk and wrote the first few lines of the story, not knowing what might develop, what kind of characters would appear, or how long it might become—basically not knowing anything about where the story would lead—and then I just kept on writing for the next six months. All I really understood at first was what the world looked like, from his limited perspective, to this one man named Tsukuru Tazaki. But it was fascinating to see that view change bit by bit from one day to the next, growing both deeper and broader, and in some senses it really touched my heart.”

(...)

“Since 1Q84 was such a roller-coaster of a story,” notes Murakami in a quote on the Bungeishuju website, “I wanted to write something that would be rather different from that.” Indeed, the structure of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, as well as its narrative style, contrast sharply with 1Q84, offering a more intimate feeling that seems reminiscent of Norwegian Wood and Sputnik Sweetheart. We still encounter the erotic dreams, parallel worlds, dwarfs and such that are familiar from Murakami’s previous works, of course, even if what they signify is different. I would view the perfectly harmonious blend of mystery and fantasy that Murakami achieves here as a mark of his further maturation as an author.

Shikisai o motanai Tazaki Tsukuru to, kare no junrei no toshi (Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage) by Haruki Murakami Bungeishunju, 2013, 370 pp., ISBN 978-4163821108

———————————————-
Saku Masui (1967–) was born in Kobe and graduated from Kyoto University. In 1991 he joined The Nikkei, Japan’s leading economic daily, where he reported on business and stock market developments for a time before transferring to the cultural pages to take charge of book reviews and editorial duty for the serialized novels published in the paper. He left in 2004 to work for a publisher, and has since gone independent as a freelance writer and editor. He also teaches creative writing classes.

To read the whole review go to:
http://www.j-lit.or.jp/on-haruki-murakamis-new-novel-liszts-years-of-pilgrimage-turned-extravaganza/

Is Tsukuru Tazaki just another South of the Border?

... asks Frederike at www.japanliteratur.net

Japanliteratur.net, an online German magazine published a story comparing the latest Murakami novel to his 1992 South of the Border, West of the Sun.  The author found a great similarity between the two protagonists: Tsukuru and Hajime.

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki – eine Kopie von Südlich der Grenze…?

AKTUELLES BLOG LESEN

Seit über einem Monat bin ich nun schon dabei, den neuesten Roman von Murakami im japanischen Original zu lesen. Mein Eindruck bis Seite 100 ist der, dass der Roman eine neue Version von Südlich der Grenze, westlich der Sonne ist.

Achtung: Der Artikel enthält massive Spoiler. Wer sich die Spannung nicht nehmen will, sollte diesen Artikel nicht lesen!

Tsukuru Tazaki trägt einen Komplex in sich: fast alle Menschen, die ihm begegnen, haben in ihren Namen Farben als Bestandteile, nur Tsukurus Name bleibt “farblos”. Zu Beginn seines Studiums macht er die Erfahrung, von seinen Freunden ohne die Nennung eines Grundes aus der Clique ausgeschlossen zu werden – sie alle haben wieder Farbennamen. Er hatte sich von anfang an bei ihnen nie sicher gefühlt, da er als einziger keinen “Farbnanmen hatte”. Seit dieser Erfahrung schottet sich Tsukuru ab und lebt alleine – bis er wieder auf einen Mann mit einer Farbe im Namen trifft.

Eine ähnliche Thematik kennen wir auch aus Südlich der Grenze, westlich der Sonne. Auch der Protagonist Hajime hat einen Komplex, der ihm schon seit der Grundschulzeit das Gefühl gibt, nicht dazuzugehören: Er fühlt sich als einziges Einzelkind anders als alle anderen.

Die Parallele wird vielleicht auch so deutlich, weil beide Romane diese Thematik ähnlich entwickeln: Aus einer zukünftigen Perspektive wird die Lebens- und Entwicklungsgeschichte des Protagonisten von hinten aufgerollt.

Read more here:

http://japanliteratur.net/colorless-tsukuru-tazaki-eine-kopie-von-sudlich-der-grenze/

How Good is Murakami? – asks The Daily Beast

How Good Is Murakami?

Jun 24, 2013 4:45 AM EDT

He is one of the biggest-selling literary novelists in the world, and practically a deity in Japan. But American critics are still unsure about him, and often find his books strange and chaotic without explanation. Rob Verger looks at his reputation in the United States.

• 101
 
 
 
 
• inShare
 
 
•  10
 

In a scene in Haruki Murakami’s novel, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, a man descends into a dry well to do some thinking. He has a lot on his mind. His cat has disappeared. So has his wife. To make matters worse, a malevolent teenage girl has pulled up the rope ladder he used to get down the well, stranding him there in the dark. The man tells the girl, who is listening from ground level, about how he and his wife had tried to start a new life together and reinvent themselves, “like building a new house on an empty lot.” The girl tells him that’s impossible. “You might think you made a new world or a new self, but your old self is always gonna be there, just below the surface, and if something happens, it’ll stick its head out and say ‘Hi.’”

‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel’ by Haruki Murakami. 607 p. Vintage. $12.85. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group/AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

As readers of Murakami know, his books are filled with stuff like this. For novelist Jonathan Franzen, it’s moments like these that gave him an emotional response. “My experience at mid-life is that I have this busy modern life,” Franzen said. “And only at night, and when reading certain books, do I fall down into a tunnel that takes me back to a more enchanted place.” The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is one of those books for him. “While you’re reading it, everything in the world feels different,” he said. “And that for me is the mark of a great novel … I think it’s one of the great novels that’s appeared anywhere in the world in the last 30 to 40 years.”

In Japan, the release of Murakami’s new novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, has been met with a kind of mania. It became the fastest-selling book ever on Amazon Japan. It will hit American shores next year, and Philip Gabriel, who has translated several of Murakami’s works, confirmed to me that he will be translating the new novel; he’ll be the sole translator and won’t be splitting the duties with Jay Rubin, as another reporthas suggested. In the U.S., there are close to half a million copies in print of Murakami's most recent novel to be translated into English, 1Q84, according to the publisher.

But popularity aside, Murakami hasn’t been universally praised. The New York Times has been particularly mixed about his books and was soundly critical of Murakami’s magnum opus, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. “In trying to depict a fragmented, chaotic, and ultimately unknowable world, Murakami has written a fragmentary and chaotic book,” critic Michiko Kakutani wrote in 1997. More recently, the Times’ other critic, Janet Maslin, panned 1Q84, dismissing it as “stupefying” and criticizing the author for leaving questions unanswered and for quirks like focusing too much on a few characters’ breasts. And what’s going on with the “Little People” in the book? They, Maslin wrote, “are supposed to be very wise, even though the smartest thing they ever say is “Ho ho.” These are fair criticisms.

“Is he the best sentence-by-sentence writer? No,” the novelist Nathaniel Rich said. He thinks Murakami is prone to writing awkward and clichéd sentences, but he loves his work regardless. “I think he’s creating something that’s new, and that doesn’t exist in the world. I think it’s an artistic endeavor. I think he’s creating art.” What he is, Rich said, is an excellent storyteller.

“Sometimes it doesn’t all add up,” the novelist Charles ...

read more  here:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/24/how-good-is-murakami.html