Kôji ASAHINA
Winning Work
The Child
Jules Vallès, Iwanami Shoten, Publishers, 2012.
"The Child" by Jules Vallès is a must-read not only for learning the
history of literature but also for thinking about the role of children
in society as well as history. Despite the importance, the actual
contents of this literature was not known until very recently. This
literature portraits with rich humor and irony the child's unhappy
situations with his parents treating him badly, but Asahina created
excellent translation with his exquisite distance from the original
text.
We highly evaluate Asahina's achievement in broadening doors to
Japanese readers the yet-unknown-in-Japan masterpiece, and grant him
with the award.
Mathieu CAPEL
Winning Work
Odyssée mexicaine: Voyage d'un cinéaste japonais, 1977-1982
Kijû YOSHIDA, Éditions Capricci, 2013.
This is an essay written by film director Kijû Yoshida born out of his experience living in Mexico. In addition to depicting Mexico from that period, Yoshida incorporates his intellectual observations into the arts, culture, and society as well as references to Western theorists and writers into the piece. For the translation, Capel draws on his experience as a film expert as well as in-depth knowledge of cultural theories, all the while effectively using his skills as a professional translator to produce a work of translation with exceptional eloquence. The quality of French in particular is outstanding, exceeding the literary expectations one would have for an essay, hence leading to the award being granted.
Jean-Jacques TSCHUDIN
Winning Work
Errances sur les Six Voies
Jun ISHIKAWA, Les Belles Lettres, 2012.
A long time member of the award selection committee, Jean-Jacques Tschudin was closely involved in the Japanese - French Translated Literature Prize until his death on July 26th, 2013. He translated numerous works over the course of his career, and his reputation as ‘Master of Japanese Literature in France’ is unparalleled. In the last decade alone he translated around ten novels and novellas, including the famed The Dancing Girl by Mori Ogai. The awarded work, Rokudô Yugyô by Jun Ishikawa, with its myriad themes, uneven and complex structure, not to mention the many cultural references to classical and buddist literature, without doubt is a challenge to translate. Yet Tschudin manages to overcome these obstacles to produce a work of phenomenal quality. The committee grants Tschudin this special award in honor of the many great achievements he has left behind with us.