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Edward Seidensticker
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Edward George Seidensticker (February 11, 1921 – August 26, 2007) was a noted scholar and translator of Japanese literature
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...

. He was particularly known for his English version of The Tale of Genji
The Tale of Genji
is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be...

 (1976), which is counted among the preferred modern translations. He is also well known for his landmark translations of Yasunari Kawabata
Yasunari Kawabata
was a Japanese short story writer and novelist whose spare, lyrical, subtly-shaded prose works won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, the first Japanese author to receive the award...

, which led to Kawabata's winning the Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...

 in 1968.

Translator as a counterfeiter

Seidensticker has been sometimes described as "the best translator of Japanese that has ever lived"; and yet, he admitted that sometimes translation is a nearly impossible task. It becomes not only a matter of words, but also of rhythm. In a 2006 interview, he tried to explain by pointing to a well-known phrase in English -- the line at the end of Shakespeare's Hamlet: "Good night, sweet Prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
"It is an utterly simple line and I think it is a very, very beautiful line. It contains 14 syllables in English. I have looked at all the main translations into Japanese and they all contain at least three times that number of syllables. It takes longer to say something in Japanese than it does in English, and so the rhythm must be different. I always liken the translator to a counterfeiter … his task is to imitate the original down to the last detail."


The introduction to Seidensticker's translation of The Master of Go explains: "Go is simple in its fundamentals and infinitely complex in the execution of them;" and the same dynamic applies to good writing and to great translation. One of the characters in Kawabata's master-work observes: "When a law is made, the cunning that finds loopholes goes to work. One cannot deny that there is a certain slyness among younger players, a slyness which, when the rules are written to prevent slyness, makes use of the rules themselves" -- ditto, the sly translation strategy of Seidensticker at work and at play.

Seidensticker received the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...

 for Translation in 1971 for his translation of Kawabata's The Sound of the Mountain
The Sound of the Mountain
The Sound of the Mountain is a novel by Japanese writer Yasunari Kawabata, serialized between 1949 and 1954. Its translation into English by Edward G. Seidensticker was first published in 1970, earning Seidensticker the National Book Award for Translation the following year...

. He also translated The Decay of the Angel
The Decay of the Angel
is a novel by Yukio Mishima and is the fourth and last in his Sea of Fertility tetralogy.-Explanation of the title:In Buddhist scriptures, Devas are mortal angels...

, the last volume of Yukio Mishima
Yukio Mishima
was the pen name of , a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor and film director, also remembered for his ritual suicide by seppuku after a failed coup d'état...

's Sea of Fertility tetralogy
The Sea of Fertility
is a tetralogy written by the Japanese author Yukio Mishima. The four novels include Spring Snow , Runaway Horses , The Temple of Dawn and The Decay of the Angel . The series, which Mishima began writing in 1964 and which was his final work, is usually thought of as his masterpiece...

, and several of Mishima's stories. Seidensticker translated Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's The Makioka Sisters
The Makioka Sisters
The Makioka Sisters can refer to:*The Makioka Sisters , a serial novel by Tanizaki Junichiro*The Makioka Sisters , three films based on the novel...

 and Some Prefer Nettles
Some Prefer Nettles
is a 1929 novel by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki.-Themes:Considered one of Tanizaki’s most successful novels, Tade kuu mushi is rife with thematic elements which pervade the story and make for fascinating points of discourse.-East vs West:...

 and authored important criticism on Tanizaki's place in 20th century Japanese literature. The New York Times obituary allowed the translator to speak for himself:
During his years in Japan Mr. Seidensticker became friends with many of the writers he translated, though the friendships were sometimes tested during the delicate diplomatic dance that is central to the translator’s art. As Mr. Seidensticker recalled in Tokyo Central, some writers required more dancing than others:
“Tanizaki wrote clear, rational sentences,” Mr. Seidensticker wrote. “I do not, certainly, wish to suggest that I disapprove of such sentences; but translating them is not very interesting. There was little I felt inclined to ask Tanizaki about.”
Not so with Kawabata. “Do you not, my esteemed master, find this a rather impenetrable passage?” Mr. Seidensticker recalled asking him, ever so gently, during the translation of Snow Country.
“He would dutifully scrutinize the passage, and answer: ‘Yes,’ ” Mr. Seidensticker wrote. “Nothing more.”

The last work he supervised translating into English was You Were Born for a Reason on Japanese Buddhism.

Japanologist

He also wrote widely on Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, including a two-volume history of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Low City, High City: Tokyo from Edo to the Earthquake (1983); Kafu the Scribbler (1965); and Tokyo Rising: The City Since the Great Earthquake (1990).

Born in Castle Rock, Colorado
Castle Rock, Colorado
The Town of Castle Rock is the county seat of Douglas County, Colorado, United States and is named for the prominent castle tower-shaped butte near the center of town. It is part of Colorado's Front Range Urban Corridor and is located roughly 28 miles south of Denver and 37 miles north of...

, he studied the Japanese language in 1942 at the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...

, with colleague Donald Keene
Donald Keene
Donald Lawrence Keene is a Japanologist, scholar, teacher, writer, translator and interpreter of Japanese literature and culture. Keene was University Professor Emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, where he taught for over fifty years...

. He studied Japanese literature at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 and the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...

. He taught at Sophia University
Sophia University
There are several rankings below related to Sophia University.-General Rankings:The university was ranked 61st in 2010 in the ranking Truly Strong Universities by Toyo Keizai...

 in Tokyo, at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

 (1962-1966), the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 (1966-1977), and Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 (1977-1985) until his retirement in 1985. In his academic career, he is also credited with being a teacher for his peers. In an 2004 interview, Donald Richie
Donald Richie
Donald Richie is an American-born author who has written about the Japanese people and Japanese cinema. Although he considers himself only a writer, Richie has directed many experimental films, the first when he was 17...

 explained:

Seidensticker learned how not to be ronri-teki.

He published his autobiographical observations in Tokyo Central: A Memoir in 2001. A biography and bibliography are included in a commemorative work created by those whose lives he affected, New Leaves: Studies and Translations of Japanese Literature in Honor of Edward Seidensticker (1993).

After retirement, he divided his time between Honolulu and Tokyo, which he described as "the world's most consistently interesting city." His last hospitalization was caused by cranial injuries sustained during a walk along Ueno Park
Ueno Park
is a spacious public park located in the Ueno section of Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It occupies the site of the former Kan'ei-ji, a temple closely associated with the Tokugawa shoguns, who had built the temple to guard Edo Castle against the north-east, then considered an unlucky direction...

's Shinobazu Pond
Shinobazu Pond
The is a pond within Ueno Park , and a historically prominent Shitamachi feature often appearing in history and works of art. The park occupies the site of the former Kan'ei-ji, a temple closely associated with the Tokugawa shoguns, who had built it to guard Edo Castle against the northeast...

, very near his home. Following four months in a coma, he died at age 86 in Tokyo.

Honors

  • The Order of the Rising Sun
    Order of the Rising Sun
    The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...

    , 3rd Class, 1975.
  • Kikuchi Kan Prize
    Kikuchi Kan Prize
    The honors achievement in all aspects of Japanese culture. It was named in honor of Kikuchi Kan.The Prize is presented annually by Bungei Shunju literary magazine and the Society for the Advancement of Japanese Culture.-Select list of prizewinners:...

    , 1977.
  • Japan Foundation
    Japan Foundation
    The was established in 1972 by an Act of the Japanese Diet as a special legal entity to undertake international dissemination of Japanese culture, and became an independent administrative institution under the jurisdiction of the Foreign Ministry of Japan on 1 October 2003 under the "Independent...

    : Japan Foundation Award, 1984.

Selected works

Author

  • 2002 -- Tokyo Central: A Memoir. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 10-ISBN 0-295-98134-2; 13-ISBN 978-0-295-98134-5





  • __________. (____).[ The Izu Dancer & Other Stories.]

  • 1965 -- Kafu the Scribbler: The Life and Writings of Nagai Kafu, 1879-1959.
  • 1964 -- Gossamer Years: The Diary of a Noblewoman of Heian Japan. (A translation of Kagerō Nikki
    Kagero Nikki
    is a classical piece of Japanese literature from the Heian period that falls under the genre of nikki bungaku, or diary literature. Written around 974, the author of Kagerō Nikki is a woman who is only known by the title of Mother of Michitsuna...

    .) Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. 10-ISBN 0-804-81123-7; 13-ISBN 978-0-804-81123-1

  • 1961 -- Japan.


Translator
  • Inoue Yasushi. Lou-Lan and Other Stories.

  • Kawabata Yasunari. (1956; revision 1989). Snow Country
  • __________. (1969). House of the Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories.
  • __________. (1959). Thousand Cranes
  • __________. (1970). The Sound of the Mountain
  • __________. (1972). The Master of Go.

  • Mishima Yukio. (1974). The Decay of the Angel

  • Murasaki Shikibu
    Murasaki Shikibu
    Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court during the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012...

    . (1976). The Tale of Genji.
    • Pritchett, V.S. "Broken Blossoms," New York Review of Books, Vol. 24, No. 1 (February 3, 1977).

Broken Blossoms
By V.S. Pritchett
The Tale of Genji
  • Tanizaki Junichiro. (1955). Some Prefer Nettles.
  • __________. (1957). The Makioka Sisters
  • __________. (____). In Praise of Shadows

  • Niwa Fumio. (1953). A Touch of Shyness.
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