Many contemporary Japanese novelists, beginning with Murakami Haruki, have been criticized
for writing in language that sounds foreign to a domestic audience—more “translationese” than
Japanese. Indeed, many contemporary Japanese authors live outside Japan, write in other
languages in addition to Japanese, and/or come from minority backgrounds within Japan that
have complicated relationships to standardized Japanese. In this course we will read
contemporary works of Japanese literature through the lens of translation as both a readerly and
writerly practice, as well as a means by which to think through how we define the boundaries of
a given language or national literature. We will engage with short stories, poetry, screenplays,
criticism and novels to examine how writers use different linguistic registers, genres, and formal
techniques to explore questions of community, identity, and even language itself. We will look at
some theoretical and historical approaches to the study of translation in Japan as necessary
background for these discussions. We will also think about how adaptation—across literary traditions or genres—relates to translation. Prerequisites: All literary readings are in Japanese. Students must have completed or be concurrently enrolled in Japanese 100B, or consult with the instructor prior to enrolment.