Speakers: Andrew and Rieko Kamei-Dyche
Moderator: Frank Walter
Date: Sunday, March 22, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. –12:00 noon (JST); Zoom open at 9:30 for visiting
Advance registration: url TBA

Historians Andrew and Rieko Kamei-Dyche will talk about Japanese History for High School, their translation of a textbook, which was published in March 2024. The volume aims “to accurately and smoothly reflect the original Japanese text” while “employing the historical terminology used among scholars of Japan writing in English.” It includes kanji for terms, names, places, and events, and has two indexes, one for terms in English and another for Japanese. Ample footnotes provide background details, and translators’ notes “explain the rationale behind some significant editorial choices and help the reader understand the issues involved in translating a history textbook.”

Among many questions, we can ask the translators what were major issues they encountered in undertaking t his project; what they consider to have been the major “wins” in their translation and what examples reflect compromises they made or practical policies they adopted for producing an English edition that the publisher envisioned for use by Japanese readers. How did they manage to complete their translation while teaching full time at university? How did they collaborate? What do they think the book offers that cannot be found in English-language histories of Japan?  

Andrew Kamei-Dyche (PhD, University of Southern California) teaches at Aoyama Gakuin University, School of Global Studies and Collaboration. He studies the history of reading and publishing, with a special interest in networks among publishers and intellectuals. 

Rieko Kamei-Dyche (PhD, University of Southern California) teaches at Rissho University, Faculty of Data Science. She specializes in early medieval Japanese history, with an interest in courtier society and interaction between literature and historical studies. 

Frank Walter is a manager, translator, and editor at Export Japan.