FEATURES
18 The Linguist Vol/61 No/3 2022
thelinguist.uberflip.com
When talk of payment can be a cultural no-no: Deborah Iwabuchi
on the unique position of Japanese-to-English translators
I
have been a practising Japanese-to-English
translator for more than 30 years. The
economic clout of Japan, the relatively
small number of English speakers who learn
Japanese, and the infamous inefficiency of
English teaching in Japan have resulted in a
perfect windfall, making my language set
one of the most profitable in the world for
translation. Unfortunately, translation of
books, specifically children's books, makes
up a very small percentage of what I do.
The Japanese do publish and read
children's books in translation, and home-
grown translators are well known. A popular
TV series was made about the life of Hanako
Muraoka, who translated Anne of Green
Gables, and translator Yuko Matsuoka's
name is displayed as prominently as
JK Rowling's on Harry Potter books.
In the Anglosphere, however, translators of
children's and young adult (YA) literature are
not household names. The Japan branch of
the Society of Children's Book Writers and
Illustrators (SCBWI) does actively promote
translation, and talented translators are
celebrated by awards such as the Mildred L
Batchelder Award. Considered the Oscar for
translated children's books, it was won this
year by Temple Alley Summer, Avery Fischer
Udagawa's translation of the book by Sachiko
Kashiwaba. But while we translators admire
each other's successes, I often wonder who
else notices. Translating kidlit from Japanese
to English is a luxury. I don't know of anyone
who can make a living from it, so we focus
on commercial projects instead.
Demand for world children's and YA
literature from within the 'Big Five' US
publishers and their imprints is dismal. But
Japanese children's book publishers regularly
publish translations from other languages, and
are eager to see domestic award-winning
books published in English, even if they
have to do it themselves. This Japan-based
English-language market is where I have most
of my experience. I have worked for Kodansha
International (KI) and the Japanese Literature
Publishing Project (JLPP), which both paid well.
But in 2011, KI was closed, sending four of my
translations into a black hole. JLPP lost much
of its government funding and discontinued
its extensive activities, which had been a real
source of encouragement and income for
translators and editors of several languages.
Poor working conditions and no pay
These days in Japan, most books come with
a tight budget and no scope for negotiation.
I have taken on jobs that turned into labours
of love with minimal compensation. Once,
my co-translator and I were charmed by the
author of a successful middle-grade
children's book, who was planning to publish
the English version on Kindle. It did come
out, with lovely new illustrations, but we
received nothing for our work.
Kidlit in Japan
