Kaori KATO
Winning Work
Gaël Faye
“Small Country”
Hayakawa Publishing, 2017
The original work has won a Goncourt prize of high-school students in France. The novel graphically conveys the miserable reality of civil war in Rwanda and Burundi, reflecting the background of the author, who moved from Burundi to France. At the same time, it has universal value as a story that depicts the friendship of boys and the bonds between parents and children. The author is a flag-bearer for rap music in France, and the original text is characterized by musical crispness. Ms. Kato has skillfully replaced it with gentle Japanese and conveyed its charm vividly. It is a translation that deserves high praise and is considered to be a gem that should be widely read in Japan. For the above reasons, the 24th Konishi Foundation Japanese–French Translated Literature Award has been given to Kaori Kato’s translation of “Small Country” by Gaël Faye.
Sophie BESCOND
Winning Work
EDOGAWA Ranpo
"Le Vampire”
Éditions Chapitre.com, 2017
Sophie Bescond is unknown in the world of translators and Japanese studies, but the translation was of very high quality and was praised by all the members of the selection committee. Even in the locutions peculiar to Japanese, she demonstrates accurate knowledge of Japanese and almost no mistakes are found in this translation. Typologically, this novel almost belongs to “genre literature,” but she uses the appropriate style, rhythm, and tone. For the above reasons, it has been decided that the 24th Konishi Foundation Japanese–French Translated Literature Award is given to the translation by Sophie Bescond of Le Vampire (the Vampire) by Edogawa Ranpo, published by Éditions Chapitre.com in 2017.