Shōyō at Sea: Shakespeare translation as a site for maritime exchange in Meiji and Taishō Japan
2013; Routledge; Volume: 9; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/17450918.2013.810663
ISSN1745-0926
Autores Tópico(s)Asian Culture and Media Studies
ResumoOne motif that unites Shakespeare with his first Japanese translators during the period of Shakespeare's initial reception in Japan in the Meiji (1868–1912) and Taishō (1912–26) eras is that of the sea: as a contingency in the formation of national identities, as a key lexical item, and more obliquely as a metaphor for translation and translating style. This article discusses the significance of the sea and maritime imagery in the pioneering Shakespeare translations of Shōyō Tsubouchi (1859–1935), whose career as a Shakespeare translator beginning in the 1880s coincides roughly with Japan's emergence as a major naval power that, for example, had by 1919 become entirely independent of foreign shipbuilders. Japan is historically a maritime culture, but during the period of national isolation (sakoku) between 1633 and 1853, Japanese people were largely prohibited from making oceanic journeys. Tsubouchi's translations of Shakespeare's Complete Works (1909–27) were produced at a time of growing consciousness of the importance of the sea to Japan's development, and in encountering the newness of Shakespeare's ocean, Tsubouchi also had cause to look within his own culture.
Referência(s)