Japanese Literature Publishing Project

[Stewart]

I recently bought a book (Botchan, by Natsume Sōseki) and inside there was a little bit about how it was part of the Japanese Literature Publishing Project. It's only now that I've come to look into it, to see what the project is and what it entails. And here's the About section of their website:

The Japanese Literature Publishing Project (JLPP) was launched in 2002 by the Agency for Cultural Affairs to promote modern Japanese literature overseas. Literary works produced since 1868 are selected by a committee for translation into one or more of four target languages comprising English, French, German, and Russian. Reader response to this project introducing lesser-known gems of modern Japanese literature to the world has been enthusiastic.

As of October 2007, eighty-four works have been selected for translation, with every effort being made to choose a wide range of works to demonstrate the richness and diversity of modern Japanese literature. Of these, fifty works have been published in one or more of the four target languages.

As well as being on sale in bookstores, two thousand copies of each published title are purchased by JLPP for donation to libraries, universities, and other cultural organizations worldwide.

J-Lit Center is the organization responsible for administering the JLPP. The center oversees all aspects of the program, including obtaining rights, finding translators and publishers, and donating published copies to overseas institutions.

It's quite proactive, I think, and, since 2002, they've launched three lists of titles (list 1 | list 2 | list 3), of which the third list begins themed selections. In this case, Love & Death and Cities. They also have translations of short stories from young Japanese authors available to read, too.

Now, picking the best of a nation by committee may highlight the best of intentions, but should it be happening that way? The committee, I would think, would need to have a strong understanding of the target cultures to know if a Japanese titles would be well received in those languages.

And exporting such translations to such a narrow focus of destination languages? I'm surprised Spanish isn't another route they are pursuing, given the population of the world that could, in theory, access Japanese literature.

[Stewart]

Returning to this, I see they've book putting out annual catalogues of Contemporary Japanese Authors, with the second one just being released, featuring fifty new authors "profiled in a two-page spread that includes insightful commentary on three of his or her representative works."

I see, looking at last year's catalogue, which was taken to the Frankfurt Book Fair, there was a two page profile of Ogawa Yoko, who was published in English translation recently with The Diving Pool.