Dr. Paul F. McCarthy, Professor of Comparative Culture at Surugadai University, discussed his experience translating Shiba Ryotaro’s multi-volume novel Saka no Ue no Kumo into English at the AJS Luncheon on April 27th. In his talk, Professor McCarthy not only recounted the tribulations of translation, but also shared his understanding of this work of literature.

While several attempts to translate Saka no Ue no Kumo into English have been made in the past, no translations were successfully realized, Professor McCarthy said. This translation will likely take three years to produce, and possibly another year for copy-editing. Three translators are working on the eight volume work. Professor McCarthy is working on volumes one, three, and five.

Professor McCarthy next briefly discussed his career in translation. Though a university professor, his true passion is translation of Japanese literature. He has translated works of Tanizaki Jun’ichiro such as his memoirs (Yosho Jidai), the novel Neko to Shozo to Futari no Onna, and a series of short stories (“Bishoku Kurabu”, et al). Furthermore, he has worked on the translation of avant-garde poet and novelist Kanai Mieko’s work Tango-Shu.

Next, Professor McCarthy pointed out the numerous challenges within translation. A translator’s movement between the foreign language and his or her native language involves compromises and omissions. Trying to preserve every nuance will result in very unnatural English. Likewise, trying to naturalize the text too greatly betrays the basic meaning and subtle nuances of the Japanese text. Thus, translators are faced with the daunting task of not betraying source or target languages. The traditionally conservative translator, such as Arthur Waley, Donald Keene, and Edward Seidensticker, is concerned with producing readable and appealing English texts, even at the cost of omitting or cutting the Japanese. In contrast, the more radical translator preserves as many peculiar features of Japanese as possible so that the reader recognizes the work as Japanese literature. Professor McCarthy places himself in the former camp.

Professor McCarthy proceeded to give a brief introduction to Saka no Ue no Kumo. The novel is about people of the early Meiji period who managed to recreate their country as well as themselves. It is during this period that the country moved from a state of high feudalism to that of a centralized, modern nation-state. The novel presents its three main characters-Masaoka Shiki, Akiyama Yoshifuru, and Akiyama Saneyuki-as very talented, bright, diligent, devoted individuals who each made contributions to their country.

Lastly, Professor McCarthy offered his insights into Saka no Ue no Kumo. It has been suggested that the author may have held anti foreign feelings. Professor McCarthy argues that while Shiba Ryotaro was a patriot and a nationalist, he was not a chauvinist. The positive portrayal of foreign teachers of modern military technology from Germany and England in the novel supports this view. Next, concerning why Saka no Ue no Kumo is so popular among contemporary Japanese, Professor McCarthy points out a crisis of confidence in Japan, especially among the young. Due to numerous economic and political problems, Japanese feel a need for men such as those of the Meiji period-people who combine talent, discipline, love of country, and self-s of optimism characterized by the possibility of progress and of making a real contribution to their country. He suggests that this is the meaning of the title Saka no Ue no Kumo. “Saka” suggests struggling from weakness and poverty to strength and prosperity. “Kumo” suggests possibility, as in the term “seiun no kokorozashi,”-literally, “an aspiration for the blue clouds.”