Category Archives: translation

The Japanese particle は(wa), 癒やし (iyashi), and therapeutic dogs.

Grammar is interesting because it allows packing a lot of meaning into only a few words. In Japanese, a language where words are often omitted, that is even more so. In this post I want to analyze the following sentence, which I heard the other day: 犬は癒やされますね。 [Inu wa iyasaremasu ne] This sentence is quite… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 9]

This is the 9th chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land where he has a ideological conflict with the indigenous customs there. If you enjoy this story and want to read more,… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 8]

This is the 8th chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land where he has a moral conflict with the indigenous customs there. If you enjoy this story and want to read more,… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “House Ephemera” by Hatasu Shikishima [Chapter 1]

This is the first chapter of a new story I am translating titled “House Ephemera” (蜉蝣の家) by Hatasu Shikishima (識島果). Thanks to Sherayuki for helping proofread this chapter. You can see the full Japanese text of this chapter here. See this page which contains a brief synopsis and links to other chapters (as they are… Read More »

Japanese novel translation: “The Rainlands” by Haruka Asahi [Chapter 7]

This is the 7th chapter of the fantasy novel “The Rainlands” (雨の国) by Haruka Asahi (朝陽遥) which I am translating from Japanese with the author’s permission. It is about a man’s journey to a mysterious land where he has a moral conflict with their indigenous customs.  While I had taken a break from this series for a… Read More »

Twitter review: “Novel opening bot” (小説冒頭bot): Experience Japanese literature in bite-sized chunks

It’s only recently that I’ve been spending more time using Twitter, both posting links for some of my articles as well as reading those made by others. I’m sure many people will agree that Twitter is a great way to eat up your time, but from what I’ve seen it is, more often than not,… Read More »

Japanese Literature Translation Sample: The Introduction of「蜜蜂と遠雷」(Honey Bees and Distant Thunder) by 「恩田 陸」 (Riku Onda)

Recently I reviewed the Japanese novel “Honey Bees and Distant Thunder” (蜜蜂と遠雷) by Riku Onda (恩田 陸). In this post I decided to translate the short intro of the book as an exercise to improve my translation skills. This excerpt has some really good imagery and translating it was both a joy and a challenge.… Read More »

Japanese fiction translation: “Final Days of Summer” by “Masaki Hashiba” [Story 2 / Part 4]

This is my translation of the 4rd and final chapter of the second story “Starfollower” (星を辿る人) of the fantasy work “Final Days of Summer” (残夏)  by Masaki Hashiba (ハシバ柾). I’ve gotten permission from the author to translate it and put it on my blog. The original work was published online not in chapters, but as one onely`ong entry… Read More »

Japanese fiction translation: “Final Days of Summer” by “Masaki Hashiba” [Story 2 / Part 3]

This is my translation of the 3rd chapter of the second story “Starfollower” (星を辿る人) of the fantasy work “Final Days of Summer” (残夏)  by Masaki Hashiba (ハシバ柾). I’ve gotten permission from the author to translate it and put it on my blog. The original work was published online not in chapters, but as one long entry with some breaks.… Read More »