南向き翻訳事務所 岩渕デボラ ブログ

本をアナログで読むかディジタルリーダーで読むか、討論は続きますが、一番得しているのは読者です。こちらでは、星野富弘の『愛、深き淵より』の英語版(Love from the Depths: the Life of Tomihiro Hoshino)の元出版社の立風書房が学研に取得されて、学研はとりあえず続版を考えていません。このような本はディジタル状態でいつでも手に入れることができれば、win-win situationだと言えるではないでしょうか。また、忘れてはいけないことの１つは、ディジタルリーダーを使いたくない方は印刷した本を読めば良いと思います。私としては、アマゾンのキンドルを買ってから、アナログの本を前よりも買うようになりました。一旦買い出すととても止めにくい習慣です。

A number of years ago I read Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer. It was a fascinating read, describing all the details of climbing Mt. Everest. It was so descriptive, in fact, that I felt out of breath the entire time I was reading it. I still think about it almost compulsively–the life-threatening, not to mention, incredibly uncomfortable experience that is commonly referred to as “conquering Everest.” Krakauer provided me with a sufficient Everest experience. I’m happy both to have read it and also to never go there myself.

Eat Sleep Sit had much the same effect on me.  The Japanese title is “Eat Sleep Sit: The Story of Training at Eiheiji.” Presumably, the Japanese reader knows the implications of Eiheiji as a temple where Buddhist monks are trained. I appreciate how the Kodansha International editor made it clear in the title that (1) it wouldn’t be an idyllic year of sitting on wooden verandahs gazing out at moss gardens, and (2) it only lasted a year. The latter comes as a relief early on, although by that time the inclusion of “Sleep” in the title begins to raise questions.

Author Kaoru Nonomura decides to quit his job, leave his girlfriend, and set off for a year of training at Eiheiji. When he arrives, he stands at the door to the temple, in the snow, and ends up having to shout himself hoarse before he is allowed in–and the experience (from this reader’s eyes) goes downhill from there as the trainee leaves every last ounce of freewill outside the temple. Every single act of a trainee, each individual motion of that act, is set down by Dogen, the thirteenth-century founder of Eiheiji. As an example, the section “Lavatory” is nine pages long. And this is where the “Into Thin Air” effect begins to take hold. The rules are so complete and invasive that, on the one hand one wants to scream “waaaay too much information,” but on the other it is fascinating and one wants to read every word of it. The monks learn how to live as Zen automatons, although the author concedes that that may be what Zen is all about–emptying the mind by not having to make a single decision, no matter how minor.

I give veteran translator  Juliet Winters Carpenter a great deal of credit for making a large amount of ancient instruction accessible in English to the modern non-Japanese reader. In fact, I looked through the Japanese version at one point and was overwhelmed with the  passages written by Dogen so many centuries ago and even the modern re-rendering of them as the author puts them into practice. I understand that Buddhist scholars were consulted in the translation work, and the results are clearly evidenced by how easy it is to read.

As with Into Thin Air and Mt. Everest, however, Eat Sleep Fit completely cured me of any desire to actually experience spending even a night at Eiheiji. The life of the new monks is a living hell. They get perhaps two or three hours of sleep a night, come close to malnutrition, and are bullied and abused by their senior monks (most who have arrived only a few months ahead of them) in ways that would be considered criminal in any other setting. Looking at the book from this point of view, the clarity of the prose leaves nothing to the imagination, and the reader begins to feel groggy from pain and exhaustion. Here I give Nonomura credit for being able to remember in such detail the sort of trauma that usually wipes clean the memories of its victims.

The final word? I couldn’t put it down! Eat Sleep Sit, for a disconcerting but fascinating read!

I wrote earlier this fall about assisting in the translation of Mayumi’s Kitchen, a book on macrobiotic cooking written by Mayumi Nishimura, formerly Madonna’s personal chef.

The book arrived in the mail today, and it looks fantastic!  The recipes are beautifully presented and more “approachable” than one (me) might imagine when it came to macrobiotics. In fact that is Ms. Nishimura’s whole idea: to make macrobiotics appealing and available.

Since I wasn’t an “official” translator and joined the project close to deadline, I was delighted to find my name in the acknowledgments– just 6 lines from Madonna!

How many layers of separation does that cut out? We translators live with a very dubious proximity to fame, but it’s fun and gives us something to talk about when we come out of our caves.

Mayumi’s Kitchen is available from amazon.co.jp as of next week, and will be on sale in the US in June.

Japan Times reviewed Sleeping Dragon by Miyuki Miyabe.

The review itself was pretty good, but the title of the review left something to be desired.

“Ink-stained wretch meets psychic teen freak.”

Oh well, maybe that’s what readers are looking for.

We took a trip to Tokyo and visited the main Kinokuniya in Shinjuku to check out the “state of our books.” Publishing may be in a sorry state, but “our” books were on prominent display. Here’s what we found. Click on the photos (taken by our official iPhone photographer) to get a good look!

In first place, barely off the street was Kazuko Enda’s new book, Google Eibun Writing. According to Kodansha International editor Mio Urata, the book is selling “like hotcakes.” I admit, it’s not officially “our” book, but I helped, I’m happy about it–so there! Naruhodo Eigo Writing was up on the 7th floor, on the shelf.

In second place we have the Miyabe books. Second place because two books were positioned prominently next to each other–Devil’s Whisper and Sleeping Dragon. The other Miyabe books, including Crossfire, were  lined up in the shelf above.

Our first Japanese book: BPD Survival Guide was out for all to see. Seiwa Shoten made a good overall showing!

Finally, Poison Ape from Vertical.  The first book in the series was out, while the second was hidden on the shelf. (No sign of Translucent Tree, a personal favorite!)

講談社の１００周年の記念にあたって、伊勢神宮＜現代に生きる神話＞という 美しい写真集ができました。写真家は宮澤正明さん。宮澤さんは４年ぐらいにわたって撮られた伊勢の風景や祭り等がが数多く見られます。

(私にとって）運よく、伊勢神宮の河合真如様の 言葉を英訳することになったので、私もこの企画に参加できました。神嘗祭に招待を受けて、実際に伊勢神宮に行く機会も与えられました。

言葉に中々言い表せない伊勢神宮です。また、一般の人が見られないところに宮澤さんが入られて、撮影ができました。この機会に是非プロの写真を通して伊勢神宮を隅々見て下さい。

I had the wonderful opportunity to work on a book of photographs of Isejingu–the heart of the Shinto religion in Ise, Mie Prefecture. It was my good fortune that Kodansha, which is launching the book as part of its 100th Anniversary, decided to have the pages of text translated into English, and I was even invited to attend the Kannamesai (Harvest Festival) in October.  Hopefully the book will eventually be picked up for distribution in other countries, but for now, see it on the amazon.co.jp site.

いよいよ遠田和子さんの最新作が講談社インターナショナルからでました。

遠田さんからの一言：

「検索テクを教えて、「こんなことができるんだ！」「こんなふうに自分の英語を直せるんだ」「これ、おもしろい」という声が返ってくると、本当に嬉しいで す。Google検索を使うと、みんな、自分が今持っている英語力を最大限に生かすことができると思う。それだけでなく、検索をしていると、毎日発見が あってとてもおもしろい。そんな経験をする人が増えますように！」

また、

読者のための特別ボーナスがもう１つあります。今回のイラストは遠田さんの大学同級生、版画家のよしざわようこさんの作品です。

私が群馬県立女子大で担当している生徒に遠田さんは今回の本の内容についての講義をしていただいたところ、生徒の目は輝いて、次の課題から教わったテクニックを使い始めました。(生徒の宿題も本の例題に含まれています！）

私はよく聞かれます：「どうやって英語が上手になる？」

その答え：『Google英文ライティングーー英語がどんどん書けるようになる本』です。（そして、もちろん、『英語なるほどライティング』ですよね。）

See Nobuko Takagi’s blog for her latest short story, translated into English by Minamimuki. This time Takagi went to Korea, and her story is about a pair of chili pepper sisters who end up in a batch of kimchee. The story calls for a certain amount of suspended disbelief, but, as usual, the ending explains Takagi’s point–looking back it all makes more sense and gives one a sense of, well, TMI from across the pond.

This fall, I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating on two books that most likely won’t have my name on the cover. One you can look up by using “Madonna” as a search word! I did a great deal of translation on Mayumi’s Kitchen, a book written by Mayumi Nishimura, who worked as Madonna’s personal macrobiotic chef for many years, accompanying the (then) Ritchie family on four world tours–keeping them healthy all the while. The very word “macrobiotics” tends to send a chill of fear down one’s back–is it possible to stick to the diet? Is it anything other than brown rice? Happily, especially for beginners, Ms. Nishimura’s recipes offer a surprising  variety of dishes, topped with large amounts of reassurance, encouragement, and forgiveness.

長年マドンナのマクロバイオティックチェッフを勤めた西邨マユミ先生の初英語料理本が来年出版されます。表紙に名前は載っていないかもしれませんが、この本の英訳に南向き翻訳事務所が活躍しました。「マクロバイオティック」を聞くと「毎日玄米」という印象が強いが、西邨先生のレシピは作り安くて、バラエティーに富んでいます。先生の説明と励ましの言葉がたっぷり含まれてあるので、マクロバイオティック初心者には最適です。

フィクションから一転して、心理学の世界に入ります。

『境界性パーソナリティ障害サバイバルガイド』が今月、星和書店からでます。

和訳は本多篤と岩渕愛のデビュー作です。岩渕デボラは翻訳監督。またこの場を借りて、武井真一先生のお手伝いと広い範囲のサポートを心からお礼申し上げます。