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Translation as ‘Bakemono’: Shapeshifters of the Meiji Era (1868-1912)

2017; Volume: 3; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.18178/ijlll.2017.3.3.114

2972-3108

Daniel J. Wyatt,

Translation Studies and Practices

Bakemono ( 化 け 物 ) or obake ( お 化 け ) are Japanese terms for a class of yōkai: preternatural creatures of indigenous folklore.In English they might be referred to as apparitions, phantoms, goblins, monsters, or ghosts.In the literal sense, bakemono are things that change, referring to a state of transformation or shapeshifting.Japan's period of 'bunmei kaika' (civilization and enlightenment) in the Meiji era (1868-1912) signifies the stigmatization of supernatural shapeshifters and concurrent burgeoning of bakemono of a literal kind: translation.Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, translation of foreign literature became tantamount to the dissemination of modern thought and propelling the new governments' efforts towards the creation of a modern state.Meiji translated literature reveals the various cultural systems through which new knowledge was processed and transitioned during this period, resulting in translations which-like the traditional bakemono motif-demonstrated an adaptability that allowed texts to transform and shapeshift according to their intended purposes and readerships.Accordingly, through a diachronic investigation of a selection of supernaturally-themed texts translated from English into Japanese in the Meiji era, this paper examines the treatment of 'bakemono' both in translation and as translation.