SWET Talk Shop Online, September 6 (Sun.), via Zoom
Three Translators of Kansai
Guests: Stuart Ayre, Catherine Nakamichi, and Eleanor Yamaguchi
Moderator: Larry Walker
Time: 9:30 a.m.–12:00 noon JST
Our September SWET Talk Shop Online was organized by SWET members based in Kyoto. Twenty-minute interviews with each guest speaker, moderated by Larry Walker, were followed by Q&A and discussion among all present.
View video of the event:
[url=https://youtu.be/Zy7DTYlQR44]https://youtu.be/Zy7DTYlQR44[/url]
Stuart Ayre is a Japanese-to-English legal translator based in Kyoto. Originally a technical translator at Toyota, he switched to legal translation back in 2013 and worked in-house for a law firm in Tokyo for several years. He now works freelance, translating mainly court documents and contracts. He is also known for his wide-ranging illustration work.
In response to questions during the meeting, Stuart recommended the following reference works for legal translation:
1. A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting by Ken Adams
(Kindle version available):
https://www.adamsdrafting.com/
2. Dictionary of Legal Usage by Bryan Garner
(I use this almost every day. Most (all?) books authored by him are superb.)
https://global.oup.com/
3. Basics of English Contracts by Junji Miyano and Emiko Iizumi
(To gain insights into English contract drafting from a native-Japanese-speaker perspective):
https://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/
Catherine Nakamichi specializes in Japanese-to-English translation in the fields of technology, health and medical issues, education and academia, retail and marketing, art and handicrafts, sport and cultural festivals, hospitality, and tourism through her company, Catlingual, founded in 2006. She is an active member of the Japan Association of Translators and Foreign Executive Women, Kansai.
The books that Catherine showed us and discussed in the talk are as follows:
日本伝統文化の英語表現事典 (A Quick Guide to Traditional Japanese Arts and Handicrafts), ¥4,180
日本伝統文化の英語表現事典【人物編】(The Quick Guide to Cultural Figures of Japan), ¥4,180
Eleanor Yamaguchi is associate professor in international cultural exchange at Kyoto Prefectural University, where she specializes in Japanese history and culture and UK-Japan relations. She worked in Aomori and in Aichi prefectures before settling in Kyoto in 2019.
Britain and Japan Biographical Portraits Vol. VII (Global Oriental, 2010), compiled and edited by Hugh Cortazzi, "Chapter 3, Nakai Hiromu (1838–94): A Forgotten Hero of Anglo-Japanese Relations" (pp. 33–43), Eleanor Robinson [Yamaguchi] https://brill.com/view/title/19475
Britain and Japan Biographical Portraits Vol. IX (Rennaisance Books, 2015), compiled and edited by Hugh Cortazzi, "Chapter 35, Mutō Chōzō (1881–1942), and A Short History of Anglo-Japanese Relations" (pp. 406–412), Eleanor Robinson [Yamaguchi] https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1s17p5s
Eleanor Yamaguchi’s blog may be found at https://eleanorinjapan.wordpress.com/
Moderator Larry Walker is professor at Kyoto Prefectural University, specializing in translation and publishing history.