Articles

December 18, 2006

Editorial Insights: The Book of Sake

by Barry Lancet

SWET asked Barry Lancet of Kodansha International, to recall the experience of working with Philip Harper on The Book of Sake, featured in the SWET Newsletter article here. His account offers an insider’s insights on how a book is born and reared and a glimpse of the hard work as well as enjoyment involved.

August 11, 2006

Translation and Editing

by Lynne E. Riggs

On average, an editor (if he or she cares at all about the book) must spend two to three times as much time working on a translation than on a book originally written in English; most editors I know have argued, at one time or another, that they—rather than the translator—have translated the book, given how much... more

July 28, 2006

The Fan Quest for Authenticity

by Jessi Nuss, Meghan Strong, and Amanda Te

The fan translation done by fans of anime, manga, and video games for their own satisfaction and desire to share seeks to render the originals “authentically.” Trends and approaches from fan translation can influence “official” published translations and afford ideas for professional translators.

The word “translation” usually brings to mind the vast world of... more

March 31, 2006

Editorial Addendum

by Kim Schuefftan

SWET asked Kim Schuefftan, editor at Kodansha International from 1966 to 1989, subsequently working as a freelance editor from his base in the countryside north of Tokyo, to comment on his experience as editor working with Amy Katoh on Otafuku: The Joy of Japan. In November 1999, Schuefftan spoke to SWET, and a report of his talk may... more

March 31, 2006

Otafuku Encounters

by Damon Shulenberger

Author of Otafuku: Joy of Japan (Tuttle, June 2005), Amy Katoh is known for her shop Blue & White, a fixture of Tokyo’s Azabu Juban area for more than 30 years, and three previous books. SWET pried into the profession and persona of one of Japan’’ greatest champions of traditional crafts and culture.

Once you... more

May 23, 2004

My Sort of Translating

by Edward G. Seidensticker

My kind of translation is literary translation of works that I like and admire.

My subject today is “My Sort of Translating.” By this I mean a kind of translating which I think probably not very many of you are much involved in. I’m an amateur. I have always been very much an amateur. An... more