Sanaka HIIRAGI, The Lantern of Lost Memories, Nami, 2024

Published in Japan in 2019, Le Gardien des souvenirs was the first work by HIIRAGI Sanaka to be translated into French. Although already an established novelist in Japan at the time of the original’s publication, HIIRAGI was unknown in France. As the translator, I faced two tasks: to respect the writer’s style and to introduce her to a French audience.

The story opens with the depiction of a photo studio situated between this world and the next. Its manager serves as a guide for the dead, helping them accept death and move on. He has the dead choose a number of photographs from their life equal to their age; these are then replayed like a revolving lantern in memory. Thanks to this, the dead are able to forget their regrets and pass peacefully into the next world. When, in seeking such “life photos,” a deceased person comes across blurred images that are memories of happiness faded over many years, the custodian Hirazaka offers the chance to return to the day of that memory and retake the photograph. In this way, he escorts one after another, Hatsue, who lived to a ripe old age; Wani-guchi, a yakuza murdered violently; Mitsuru, a victim of domestic violence, back to the living world on journeys blending emotion, humor, and poignancy.

Although it may initially seem a succession of bittersweet life fragments, the novel gradually reveals a complex narrative and psychological depth. In reading and translating it, I was struck by the vivid characters, the poetic style, and the quiet, sometimes tragic, atmosphere. Spanning more than half a century, the tale shows the transformation of an imaginary region inspired by real places familiar to the author. Because the original gave no furigana for the place names, I did not know how to read them and had to ask the author, from whom I learned that they were all invented based on actual locations.

Challenges in translation included the non-linear timeline and the handling of the colloquial speech of multiple narrators. Another major difficulty was the deliberate concealment of a character’s gender. In French, overuse of neutral expressions tends to sound awkward, so some ingenuity was needed. Furthermore, the novel required thorough knowledge of photography. The text frequently features old-style cameras, the process of developing negatives, and specialized terms. To avoid errors that might draw criticism from expert readers, I consulted a professional photographer, who read my translation carefully, took an interest in the process, and even made stylistic suggestions in addition to providing technical expertise.

I am deeply grateful to my friend Moe Saisho, who offered linguistic expertise whenever I encountered difficult or unclear passages; to fellow translator Xavier Gros, who read most of my translation despite his busy schedule and gave invaluable advice; and to colleague Diane Durocher, who kindly corrected my sample translation.
Finally, I warmly thank my proofreader Laura Bourgeois and editor Camille Julliet for their meticulous and dedicated work.