Dorothy Guyver Britton, Lady Bouchier MBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 was born in Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

 and educated in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, returning to Japan after the American Occupation. She is best-known as a translator

Translation

Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...

 into English of Oku no Hosomichi

Oku no Hosomichi

, translated alternately as The Narrow Road to the Deep North and The Narrow Road to the Interior, is a major work by the Japanese poet Matsuo Bashō considered "one of the major texts of classical Japanese literature."...

 by Basho

Matsuo Basho

, born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...

: A Haiku Journey – Basho's Narrow Road to a Far Province. She is author of The Japanese Crane: Bird of Happiness and co-author of National Parks of Japan.

Dorothy Britton is also a poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

 and composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and was a pupil of Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud

Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...

. She is known for her popular album Japanese Sketches, in which Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi

is an internationally famous Japanese actress, a talk show host, a best-selling author of children book, a World Wide Fund for Nature advisor, and a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. She is well-known for her charitable works, and is considered as one of the first Japanese celebrities who achieved...

's father is violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 soloist.

Her late husband, Air Vice Marshal Sir Cecil ("Boy") Bouchier

Sir Cecil Bouchier

Air Vice Marshal Sir Cecil Arthur Bouchier KBE, CB, DFC served with the British Army, Royal Flying Corps, Indian Air Force and Royal Air Force from 1915 to 1953....

, K.B.E., C.B., D.F.C. was the first commander of the Indian Air Force

History of the Indian Air Force

The history of the Indian Air Force began with its establishment in 1932 and continues up to the present day.-Formation and early pilots:The Indian Air Force was established in British India as an auxiliary air force of the Royal Air Force with the enactment of the Indian Air Force Act 1932 on 8...

 and a station commander during the Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

.

Lady Bouchier was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.

Selected Translations

• Tomiko Higa – The Girl with the White Flag
• Tsuneo Hayashida – The Japanese Crane: Bird of Happiness
• Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
  Ryunosuke Akutagawa
  was a Japanese writer active in the Taishō period in Japan. He is regarded as the "Father of the Japanese short story". He committed suicide at age of 35 through an overdose of barbital.-Early life:...
  
   – The Spider's Thread and Other Stories
• Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
  Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
  is an internationally famous Japanese actress, a talk show host, a best-selling author of children book, a World Wide Fund for Nature advisor, and a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. She is well-known for her charitable works, and is considered as one of the first Japanese celebrities who achieved...
  
   – Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window
  Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window
  Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window is a children's book written by Japanese television personality and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. The book was published originally as in 1981, and became an instant bestseller in Japan...
  
  
• Princess Chichibu
  Princess Chichibu
  was the wife of Prince Chichibu of Japan.Princess Chichibu was born as Matsudaira Setsuko in Walton on Thames, England. She was the daughter of Matsudaira Tsuneo , Japanese ambassador to the United States and later to Great Britain , and still later, Imperial Household Minister and his wife, the...
  
   – The Silver Drum, A Japanese Imperial Memoir
• Takashi Kojima – Rashomon and Other Stories
• Chihiro Iwasaki
  Chihiro Iwasaki
  was a Japanese artist and illustrator best known for her water-colored illustrations of flowers and children, whose theme was "the happiness of children and peace".- Life :...
  
  – Chichiro's Album of Words and Pictures