THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET David James karashima Dipòsit Legal: T. 1497-2013 ADVERTIMENT. L'accés als continguts d'aquesta tesi doctoral i la seva utilització ha de respectar els drets de la persona autora. Pot ser utilitzada per a consulta o estudi personal, així com en activitats o materials d'investigació i docència en els termes establerts a l'art. 32 del Text Refós de la Llei de Propietat Intel·lectual (RDL 1/1996). Per altres utilitzacions es requereix l'autorització prèvia i expressa de la persona autora. En qualsevol cas, en la utilització dels seus continguts caldrà indicar de forma clara el nom i cognoms de la persona autora i el títol de la tesi doctoral. No s'autoritza la seva reproducció o altres formes d'explotació efectuades amb finalitats de lucre ni la seva comunicació pública des d'un lloc aliè al servei TDX. Tampoc s'autoritza la presentació del seu contingut en una finestra o marc aliè a TDX (framing). 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ROVIRA I VIRGILI UNIVERSITY THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET David James Karashima DL: T. 1497-2013 DAVID KARASHIMA THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET DOCTORAL THESIS UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILI Tarragona 2013 ROVIRA I VIRGILI UNIVERSITY THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET David James Karashima DL: T. 1497-2013 DAVID KARASHIMA THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET DOCTORAL THESIS Supervised by Dr Kayoko Takeda Intercultural Studies Group UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILI Department of English and German Studies Tarragona 2013 ROVIRA I VIRGILI UNIVERSITY THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET David James Karashima DL: T. 1497-2013 ROVIRA I VIRGILI UNIVERSITY THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET David James Karashima DL: T. 1497-2013 Abstract Haruki Murakami is the most widely read contemporary Japanese author today. His books have been translated into more than forty languages, have become bestsellers in many countries, and have garnered critical acclaim internationally. How did Murakami become the “breakthrough” Japanese writer on the international literary scene? Critics and scholars often point to certain characteristics and themes in his work to explain Murakami’s success within various cultural and national contexts. However, while there is no question that Murakami’s fictional worlds have spoken to readers worldwide, his remarkable commercial and critical success cannot be fully understood through an analysis of his works alone. The majority of Japanese literature in English translation is produced and published on the margins of the US/UK publishing industries for relatively niche audiences. This has been possible largely due to patronage extended by government and cultural organizations that assist authors who have achieved a certain status within the Japanese literary field make inroads into foreign markets. Murakami might seem an exception to this trend. He enjoys prestigious mainstream outlets in English in the form of his publisher, Knopf (Random House), and the New Yorker magazine, and he did not benefit from government support in launching his career abroad. Nevertheless, Murakami’s case is similar to other translated Japanese authors in that it was by improving his position within Japanese publishing circles that he initially gained the opportunity to be published in English. What sets Murakami apart from other contemporary Japanese writers, however, is how he was able to gain a firm foothold in the Anglophone market and gradually improve his positions within it with the help of ROVIRA I VIRGILI UNIVERSITY THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET David James Karashima DL: T. 1497-2013 editors, scholars, literary agents, translators, and other individuals (including eventually readers). This dissertation examines the role of these various key players involved in translating, rewriting, and (re)producing “Haruki Murakami” for the Anglophone (and by extension international) markets. ROVIRA I VIRGILI UNIVERSITY THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET David James Karashima DL: T. 1497-2013 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Kayoko Takeda, my dissertation surpervisor, and Prof. Anthony Pym, Director of the Doctoral Program, for their invaluable guidance, support and encouragement throughout the research and writing process. I would also like to express my appreciation to Prof. Michaela Wolf and Prof. Judy Wakabayashi for supervising my minor dissertation and challenging me to think in new ways in conceptualizing this research project. I am indebted to the people who kindly shared with me material, ideas, and memories that lie at the heart of this project. I only regret that I could not do full justice to their fascinating stories in these pages (and hope I will have the opportunity to do so in the future). ROVIRA I VIRGILI UNIVERSITY THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET David James Karashima DL: T. 1497-2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................ 11 Chapter 2: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework .................................... 16 2.1 Studying Translations in their Environments ...................................................... 16 2.2 Bourdieu’s Concepts of Cultural Production ....................................................... 18 2.3 Translation as Rewriting ........................................................................................ 23 2.4 International Literary Space ................................................................................. 24 2.5 Emphasizing the Local ........................................................................................... 27 2.6 Emphasizing the Process ........................................................................................ 29 2.7 Between Description and Explanation .................................................................. 30 Chapter 3: Method ....................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 4: Haruki Murakami in the English-speaking World ................................ 39 4.1 A One-Man Literary Festival: The English Publication of Murakami’s 1Q84. 39 4.2 Murakami the Outlier ............................................................................................ 59 4.2.1 LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION IN THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET ............................ 59 4.2.2 JAPANESE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION ............................................. 60 4.2.3 HARUKI MURAKAMI IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION ................................................. 62 4.3 Coming to America: The Role of Alfred Birnbaum, Elmer Luke, Kodansha International and others in helping Murakami make inroads into the Anglophone ROVIRA I VIRGILI UNIVERSITY THE TRANSLATING, REWRITING, AND REPRODUCING OF HARUKI MURAKAMI FOR THE ANGLOPHONE MARKET David James Karashima DL: T. 1497-2013 Market (1985-1994) ...................................................................................................... 69 4.3.1 ALFRED BIRNBAUM DISCOVERS MURAKAMI (FOR ANGLOPHONE READERS) ..... 70 4.3.1.1 The Making of a Translator: Alfred Birnbaum ........................................... 70 4.3.1.2 Birnbaum Discovers