Metodo

International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Series | Book | Chapter

206214

Cheating on Murasaki Shikibu

(in)fidelity, politics, and the quest for an authoritative post-war Genji translation

Matthew Chozick

pp. 443-462

Abstract

The oldest known Tale of Genji manuscripts are diverse and they were created centuries after the life of their alleged author, Murasaki Shikibu. No original text has been transmitted to us, yet new Genji translations are often marketed as higher in fidelity to Murasaki's writing than predecessors. In this case study, Chozick examines how Genji retranslations have been carried out and sold as increasingly authoritative without a single, definitive source text. Such complexities are widely discounted in scholarship as well as in promotional materials for new Genji translations. As a corrective, this study draws attention to how translator agency and creativity intersect with textual and historical circumstances, while focusing on two influential Genji retranslations: the second Japanese Genji translation by Junichiro Tanizaki (Murasaki Shikibu: Junichirō shinyaku Genji monogatari (The Junichiro New Translation of The Tale of Genji), 12 vols. Chūōkōronsha, Tokyo, 1951–54) along with Edward Seidensticker's unabridged English edition (Murasaki Shikibu: The Tale of Genji. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1976). In exploring the dynamic role of translators in the context of Genji, this study introduces the notion of the "hypervisible" translator.

Publication details

Published in:

Boase-Beier Jean, Fisher Lina, Furukawa Hiroko (2018) The Palgrave handbook of literary translation. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Pages: 443-462

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-75753-7_22

Full citation:

Chozick Matthew (2018) „Cheating on Murasaki Shikibu: (in)fidelity, politics, and the quest for an authoritative post-war Genji translation“, In: J. Boase-Beier, L. Fisher & H. Furukawa (eds.), The Palgrave handbook of literary translation, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 443–462.