More and more works by leading contemporary Japanese novelists are gaining popularity after being translated and published in English. "Natsu Monogatari" (A summer story, published as "Breasts and Eggs" in its English translation) by Mieko Kawakami was published in the United States in April, followed by "Aru Otoko" (A Man) by Keiichiro Hirano in June.
The trend was boosted in part after Sayaka Murata's "Konbini Ningen" (Convenience Store Woman) was favorably received overseas when its English translation was published. The novel, which won the Akutagawa literary prize in 2016, is set to be translated into 35 languages.
Increasing interest
"Kawakami writes with unsettling precision about the [female] body," The New York Times wrote in a review of Kawakami's "Breasts and Eggs" in April when the novel was published in an English translation by Sam Bett and David Boyd. The article offers an in-depth analysis of what is fascinating about the novel, picking up on the recent publications of Japanese literature by women in English. It cites the names of such novelists as the late Yuko Tsushima, Yoko Tawada, Yoko Ogawa and Murata, and is a sure sign that there is an increasing interest in their works.
The protagonist of "Breasts and Eggs" is a female writer. The novel depicts various topics and problems surrounding Japanese society today, such as reproductive medicine and social inequality, and is an expansion on one of Kawakami's earlier novels, "Chichi to Tamago" (literally "Breasts and eggs"). The front page of the English edition carries a blurb by Haruki Murakami, which reads, "It took my breath away." A good incentive for potential readers indeed.
Kawakami signed up with a major U.S. literary agent, and her book was released by New York-based publisher Europa Editions.
"Overseas readers are interested in how [her work] shows the reality of Japan today, such as an environment where women find it difficult to live," said Miwako Ozawa, Kawakami's assistant.
Meanwhile, publication of "A Man," translated by Eli K. P. William, is notable in that it was published by Amazon Crossing, which publishes translated books under Amazon Publishing, the publication wing of Amazon Inc.
"They understand the literary quality of writers very well. They have vast knowledge about the internet and are always thinking about what they should do to help readers meet the books that suit them," said Gen Nakamura of Cork Inc., Hirano's agent, regarding Amazon Crossing.
"Its strength as a publisher affiliated with Amazon was in the circumstances where people can't freely go to bookstores because of the novel coronavirus pandemic," added Nakamura, who is also an executive officer of Cork Inc., a creators' agency that manages novelists and other artists.
"A Man" was selected in May for Amazon First Reads, eight books recommended by Amazon every month. The winner of the Yomiuri Literature Prize last year asks questions about love through a man and a woman burdened with a bitter past.
"There are many commonalities in things that trouble people [of the world] today. I think works of literature that try to understand what's happening to people and society today and put it into words are required by people beyond borders and languages," Hirano said about the significance of publication of his novel in an English translation.
Working out export licenses
Moves to exert more effort in exporting Japanese literature are spreading to domestic publishing houses, too.
Bungeishunju Ltd., which boasts successful examples in the licensing business with such novels as "Convenience Store Woman," and "64" (Six Four) by Hideo Yokoyama, transferred its export licensing department to the literary publication bureau of the company. By doing so, the publishing house strengthened coordination between the department and the literary editing department to promote export licensing to Europe, the United States and other parts of the world.
When "Convenience Store Woman" was published in an English translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori in 2018, it caused a buzz for its description of contemporary Japanese subculture and society. The novel was selected as one of The New Yorker magazine's Best Books of 2018. So far, agreements for translations have been signed for 35 languages.
"Publication practices differ between Japan and the West, where it is important for a book to be recognized by literary circles that are like small cliques of literary editors and translators," said Hiroshi Arai, the head of the licensing department at Bungeishunju.
"The number of book readers in Japan is decreasing due to the aging population and declining birth rate. I think it will be important to find opportunities overseas," he added.
Gaining recognition
The first serious moves to promote translations of modern Japanese literature were seen during the 1950s, led by Americans who studied the language while in the military, such as Donald Keene and Edward Seidensticker. They translated works by Junichiro Tanizaki, Yukio Mishima and Yasunari Kawabata, among others.
From the second half of the 1980s, translations of novels by Haruki Murakami gathered steam. As of now, his works have been translated into more than 50 languages, mainly in Asia and the West.
In South Korea, the government has worked hard to increase translations of the country's literature. It set up the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, which supports publications of translated books and runs a translation academy. By contrast, literature exports from Japan are said to be dependent on efforts by individuals.
There have been renewed efforts in recent years. "The Thief," an English translation of Fuminori Nakamura's Kenzaburo Oe Prize-winning novel, became widely noted as a crime masterpiece and won the David L. Goodis Award in the United States in 2014. "Kentoshi" (The Emissary) by Yoko Tawada, who lives in Germany, received the National Book Award for Translated Literature in the United States. And "Hisoyaka na Kessho" (The Memory Police) by Yoko Ogawa was short-listed for the International Booker Prize this year.
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