Process Talk: A Conversation with Translator Keiko Nagatomo, Part 1
While Keiko Nagatomo was working on translating Book Uncle and Me into Japanese, she sent me some questions through my agent—things she was puzzled by or wanted to know more about.
Never has a translator of any of my books reached out that way before. We ended up having a delightful correspondence. In turn, Keiko graciously consented to answer my questions.
Welcome, Keiko Nagatomo!
[UK] You asked me so many wonderful questions and you clearly read my book so closely and carefully. Can you talk about how you approach each translation project? What does that work involve?
[KN] When I read this story in English, I translated it into Japanese without deeply thinking about various things or situations in the story – but at some points, I stopped and checked things which I felt curious about.
For example, where does Yasmin live? How is the educational environment/system in India? What is an iron lady? What are those Indian sweets, how do they look and taste? How do they do elections? How to pronounce everyone’s name properly?
Indian lunch box was interesting – 3-layered oval box not hermetically sealed and thus can’t be tilted.
The editor-in -charge proceeded book illustrations with the illustrator, and then she showed me rough sketches – which she sent you for permission through the agency. The editor and I talked about the illustration a few times about whether or not they explain properly for the story.
At an early stage, the editor and I brainstormed about the book title. The Japanese title is, if directly translated into English, ‘Book Uncle and his library on the street’. We associated what Book Uncle does with ‘Little Free Library’ movement.
We even thought of SDGs set up by UNICEF. This story never ages –it has universal appeal all of the time.
[UK] I love those connections! I’d love to know what you enjoyed most about translating this book. And what challenges did you face?
[KN] I was just happy to have met this book since I always love reading. I thought that Yasmin was small me. I was happier when I talked with the editor who persuaded her publishing company to make a Japanese edition. Some people cherish books without giving much feelings for what is written in books. I like books, too. But rather than books themselves, I like reading – always want to know the world described in books.
I don’t read as many books as when I was a child because I have to spend more time to research the background and etc., of the books I translate.
The challenges this time were Indian culture. I’m a little more used to make research English/American/Canadian cultures since I have some experience of translating the children’s books from those countries. I couldn’t complete my research by myself – I looked for the information on the net mainly, but it was not at all enough. I appreciate you kindly helped me a lot.
By the way, just in case, please let me tell you that I translate children’s books only, from picture books to YA Books.
[UK] I’m very happy you met this book too. You told me this book felt special to you because of a connection you had with a librarian in your childhood. Can you talk about that a little more? In what way did this project feel like a tribute to that librarian?
[KN] When I was an elementary school pupil, my mother said that she would buy as many books as I like. But the number of books I asked her to buy was far more than she imagined. So she announced that she stop buying – I was an obedient child those days and so instead of getting angry with her, I started frequenting to the school library.
Then, summer holiday came, I began going to the children’s book corner at the city library almost every other day. The middle-aged librarian who wore glasses there asked me one day if I would like to come behind the counter. I was surprised but gladly accepted his invitation. He instructed me how to lend books to the children – to stamp the date on a card in a paper bag attached on the flyleaf of book. How fascinating it was! He led me a way to become a lifetime friend with books.
I wonder why I didn’t to go the city library afterward, or why I didn’t become a librarian. One of the reasons why I stopped going to the children’s book corner might be that my interest changed. There were many general books for grown-ups at home. The children’s books like Winnie the Pooh, The Traveler in Time, Peter Rabbit, Alice, Narnia and other many great books, I read them when I decided to become children’s book translator as necessary knowledge. My most favorite is Erich Kastner’s ‘Charlie and Louise’. I recently read his ‘The Flying Classroom’.
[UK] I don’t know those—I’ll have to look for them.
You paid attention to so many details in working with this book. Setting, characters, storyline—you made me think more deeply about the story as a result. It gave me the sense that there’s a creative, artistic side to translation that I had never realized before. To what extent do you think that’s true? Are you recreating the story in a way as well as interpreting it?
[KN] To my thought, the translation work (process?) has a room for creativity – which I don’t mean that a translator can add some sentences or erase original sentences while translating. I always imagine how the author would describe/write a story if he or she writes it in Japanese – so I always try to write in Japanese as if I were that author. My Japanese description has to be creative, thinking if I were the author since the author is creative.
The grammar structure of English and Japanese are completely different compared to the small differences between English and French/German/Spanish that use common alphabet at least. Sometimes it is difficult to put a parallel term for an English word or a sentence.
Or, too much culture differences need additional explanative description in the story for readers. That’s when creativity of a translator should work and make the story have the same meaning in different forms.
[UK] Absolutely!
More from Keiko soon.
