It is probably a bit silly, reviewing in English a book only available in Japanese, but maybe if I can get people interested, it'll get translated. Anyway, this is a book about "Eastern Philosophy" (really, almost exclusively Buddhist thought) written by failed Japanese comedian Shinmei…
Continue reading...It has been a couple of months since Strange Houses, Uketsu's debut novel in Japan and second in English translation, came out in both the US and UK. I figure it's about time to address some of the particular issues translating this one, given that…
Continue reading...I'm not sure I'd exactly call this a review, but I read Ono Fuyumi's Zan'e—the movie version is The Inerasable in English but I'd call it "Tainted" if anyone ever asked me—and I have thoughts. Here's a bit of a summary, since I'm sure not…
Continue reading...A lot of the talk about translation done by people who don't think all that deeply about it—even professional translators!—focuses on things like accuracy and faithfulness, but I find that tends to work around assumptions that are worth investigating. Like, when something is "accurate," we…
Continue reading...Much like (from what I hear) the English speaking world, Japan is having a bit of a horror "moment." In print and on the screen, what has always been a pretty solid side-branch of the entertainment mix has begun to blossom into something bigger and…
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