Translation as representation: Fukuzawa Yukichi's representation of the "Others"
-
Akiko Uchiyama
Abstract
The focus of this essay is Fukuzawa Yukichi’s representation, or translation, of non-Western cultures, which had a significant bearing on the Japanese reader’s perception of these cultures. He was a renowned nineteenth-century educator and intellectual whose translation work is recognized to have contributed to modernization of the country. However, Fukuzawa’s representation of these cultures, specifically his writings on China and Korea, has been under scrutiny as evidence for him being a nationalistic expansionist who contributed to instigating Japan’s aggression towards Asia. This essay examines how his act of translation is linked to the image of Fukuzawa as a proponent of Japan’s aggression and how Fukuzawa is responsible for ideologically framing Japan’s relationship with other non-Western cultures. Although Fukuzawa lived in the nineteenth century, his representation is still important for contemporary Japan.
Abstract
The focus of this essay is Fukuzawa Yukichi’s representation, or translation, of non-Western cultures, which had a significant bearing on the Japanese reader’s perception of these cultures. He was a renowned nineteenth-century educator and intellectual whose translation work is recognized to have contributed to modernization of the country. However, Fukuzawa’s representation of these cultures, specifically his writings on China and Korea, has been under scrutiny as evidence for him being a nationalistic expansionist who contributed to instigating Japan’s aggression towards Asia. This essay examines how his act of translation is linked to the image of Fukuzawa as a proponent of Japan’s aggression and how Fukuzawa is responsible for ideologically framing Japan’s relationship with other non-Western cultures. Although Fukuzawa lived in the nineteenth century, his representation is still important for contemporary Japan.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction: Agents of translation and Translation Studies 1
- Francisco de Miranda, intercultural forerunner 19
- Translating cultural paradigms: The role of the Revue Britannique for the first Brazilian fiction writers 43
- Translation as representation: Fukuzawa Yukichi's representation of the "Others" 63
- Vizetelly & Company as (ex)change agent: Towards the modernization of the British publishing industry 85
- Translation within the margin: The "Libraries" of Henry Bohn 107
- Translating Europe: The case of Ahmed Midhat as an Ottoman agent of translation 131
- A cultural agent against the forces of culture: Hasan-Âli Yücel 161
- Limits of freedom: Agency, choice and constraints in the work of the translator 189
- Cheikh Anta Diop: Translation at the service of history 209
- The agency of the poets and the impact of their translations: Sur, Poesía Buenos Aires , and Diario de Poesía as aesthetic arenas for twentieth-century Argentine letters 229
- The role of Haroldo and Augusto de Campos in bringing translation to the fore of literary activity in Brazil 257
- The theatre translator as a cultural agent: A case study 279
- Embassy networks: Translating post-war Bosnian poetry into English 301
- Notes on contributors 327
- Index 331
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction: Agents of translation and Translation Studies 1
- Francisco de Miranda, intercultural forerunner 19
- Translating cultural paradigms: The role of the Revue Britannique for the first Brazilian fiction writers 43
- Translation as representation: Fukuzawa Yukichi's representation of the "Others" 63
- Vizetelly & Company as (ex)change agent: Towards the modernization of the British publishing industry 85
- Translation within the margin: The "Libraries" of Henry Bohn 107
- Translating Europe: The case of Ahmed Midhat as an Ottoman agent of translation 131
- A cultural agent against the forces of culture: Hasan-Âli Yücel 161
- Limits of freedom: Agency, choice and constraints in the work of the translator 189
- Cheikh Anta Diop: Translation at the service of history 209
- The agency of the poets and the impact of their translations: Sur, Poesía Buenos Aires , and Diario de Poesía as aesthetic arenas for twentieth-century Argentine letters 229
- The role of Haroldo and Augusto de Campos in bringing translation to the fore of literary activity in Brazil 257
- The theatre translator as a cultural agent: A case study 279
- Embassy networks: Translating post-war Bosnian poetry into English 301
- Notes on contributors 327
- Index 331
