John Nathan
Encyclopedia
John Nathan is the translator of Japan
ese works written by celebrated authors such as Yukio Mishima
and Kenzaburō Ōe
. Nathan is also an Emmy-award winning producer, writer and director of many films about Japanese culture and society and American business.
He studied at University of Tokyo
. He is currently the Takashima Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara
. John Nathan's fields include Japanese culture, Japanese literature, Japanese cinema, the theory and practice of translation, and the sociology of business culture. The first American to be admitted as a regular student to the University of Tokyo, he spent many years living and studying in Japan. He is the author of a definitive biography of novelist Yukio Mishima
and he has also translated novels by Mishima and by Nobel laureate Kenzaburō Ōe
. When Ōe received the Nobel Prize in 1994, Nathan accompanied him to Stockholm.
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...
ese works written by celebrated authors such as 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...
and Kenzaburō Ōe
Kenzaburo Oe
is a Japanese author and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His works, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues including nuclear weapons, social non-conformism and existentialism.Ōe was awarded...
. Nathan is also an Emmy-award winning producer, writer and director of many films about Japanese culture and society and American business.
He studied at 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 is currently the Takashima Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
. John Nathan's fields include Japanese culture, Japanese literature, Japanese cinema, the theory and practice of translation, and the sociology of business culture. The first American to be admitted as a regular student to the University of Tokyo, he spent many years living and studying in Japan. He is the author of a definitive biography of novelist 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...
and he has also translated novels by Mishima and by Nobel laureate Kenzaburō Ōe
Kenzaburo Oe
is a Japanese author and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His works, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues including nuclear weapons, social non-conformism and existentialism.Ōe was awarded...
. When Ōe received the Nobel Prize in 1994, Nathan accompanied him to Stockholm.
Translations
- The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the SeaThe Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the SeaThe Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea , is a novel written by Yukio Mishima, published in Japanese in 1963 and translated into English by John Nathan in 1965.- Plot summary :...
by Yukio MishimaYukio Mishimawas 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... - A Personal MatterA Personal MatterA Personal Matter is a novel by Japanese writer Kenzaburō Ōe . The novel is replete with imagery of death, decay and sex....
by Kenzaburō ŌeKenzaburo Oeis a Japanese author and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His works, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues including nuclear weapons, social non-conformism and existentialism.Ōe was awarded... - Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age!Rouse Up O Young Men of the New Age!Rouse Up, O Young Men of the New Age! is a 1983 semi-autobiographical novel by Japanese author Kenzaburō Ōe, about his day-to-day life with his mentally handicapped son, Hikari and the effect that William Blake's poetry has had on both his life and work.-Plot summary:Ōe wishes to write a set...
by Kenzaburō Ōe - Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness by Kenzaburō Ōe
Books
- Mishima: A Biography (1974)
- Sony: The Private Life (1999)
- Japan Unbound: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and PurposeJapan Unbound: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and PurposeJapan Unbound is a book by UC Santa Barbara professor John Nathan that examines the underlying identity crisis in Japanese society today....
(2004) - Living Carelessly in Tokyo and Elsewhere (autobiography -- New York: Free Press. March 2008)
- "Tokyo Story: A Profile of Shintaro Ishihara." The New Yorker, April 9, 2001.
- Words, Ideas, and Ambiguities: Four Perspectives on Translating from the Japanese. Howard Hibbett, Edwin McClellan, John Nathan and Edward Seidensticker. Chicago, Ill.: Imprint Publications, 2000.
- "Kenzaburō Ōe: Mapping the Land of Dreams." Japan Quarterly 42(1), January-March, 1995.
Documentary Film
- The Japanese, A Film Trilogy: Full Moon Lunch, The Blind Swordsman, Farm Song (1979); music for Farm Song written by Toru TakemitsuToru Takemitsuwas a Japanese composer and writer on aesthetics and music theory. Largely self-taught, Takemitsu possessed consummate skill in the subtle manipulation of instrumental and orchestral timbre...
- The Colonel Goes to Japan (1982, Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
) - A film about KFCKFCKFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
in Japan. - Daimyo (1988)