Linda Nancy Andrew was the English-language translator of 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...

ese author Ryū Murakami

Ryu Murakami

is a Japanese novelist and filmmaker. He is colloquially referred to as the "Maradona of Japanese literature".-Biography:Born as Ryūnosuke Murakami in Sasebo, Nagasaki on February 19, 1952...

's highly-acclaimed novel, Almost Transparent Blue

Almost Transparent Blue

is a novel by Japanese author Ryū Murakami, published in 1976. Murakami directed a film adaptation in 1979. -Plot:Narrated by the main character Ryū the novel focuses on his small group of young friends in the mid-seventies. Living in a Japanese town with an American air force base, their lives...

, which had won the Akutagawa Prize

Akutagawa Prize

The is a Japanese literary award presented semi-annually. It was established in 1935 by Kan Kikuchi, then-editor of Bungeishunjū magazine, in memory of author Ryūnosuke Akutagawa...

 in 1976.

Born in Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

, Andrew was the only child of Dr. Warren Andrew (1910–1982), who later chaired the Department of Anatomy

Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...

 at the Indiana University School of Medicine

Indiana University School of Medicine

The Indiana University School of Medicine is a leading medical school and medical research powerhouse connected to Indiana University. With several teaching campuses in the state, the School of Medicine has its predominant research and medical center at the Indiana University – Purdue University...

 in Indianapolis

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, and Nancy Valerie Miellmier Andrew (1914–1993), later a secretary with the Indiana State Anatomical Board.

Her interest in Japanese language and culture was kindled when she traveled to Japan with her parents just before her thirteenth birthday in 1960. Graduating from Shortridge High School

Shortridge High School

Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Opened in 1864, it is the oldest free, public high school in the state...

 in Indianapolis in 1965, she studied East Asian languages

East Asian languages

East Asian languages describe two notional groupings of languages in East and Southeast Asia:* Languages which have been greatly influenced by Classical Chinese and the Chinese writing system, in particular Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese .* The larger grouping of languages includes the...

 at Indiana University

Indiana University Bloomington

Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...

 in Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....

 and Waseda University

Waseda University

, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...

 in 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...

.

After receiving an honors

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 degree from Indiana in 1969, she began graduate study at the Harvard Yenching Institute, where her faculty adviser was Edwin O. Reischauer

Edwin O. Reischauer

Edwin Oldfather Reischauer was the leading U.S. educator and noted scholar of the history and culture of Japan, and of East Asia. From 1961–1966, he was the U.S. ambassador to Japan.-Education and academic life:...

, former United States Ambassador to Japan, and where she was an editor of Stone Lion Review, published by the East Asian Graduate Students Colloquium.

While doing research for her doctoral dissertation on the feminist movement

Feminist movement

The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...

 in Japan, Andrew abandoned her academic studies to work as a translator for NHK

NHK

NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....

, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation. Her translation of Murakami's surrealistic novel of post-war life in Japan was published in 1977.