Researcher publishes Japanese author Higuchi’s works in Vietnamese

Researcher publishes Japanese author Higuchi's works in Vietnamese

On August 30, at Meio University, Vietnamese researcher Nguyen Do An Nhien introduces the book that she translated of Japanese author Ichiyo Higuchi's works including "Takekurabe (Child's Play)."


September 2, 2013 Ryukyu Shimpo

Nguyen Do An Nhien, a visiting fellow at Meio University Research Institute, has published Vietnamese translations of Japanese author Ichiyo Higuchi’s works Takekurabe and other two novels. Higuchi was Japan´s first prominent woman writer of modern times and Nhien is the first person to translate Higuchi’s short stories into Vietnamese from their original Japanese. She said, “Even if a different manner of expression is used, I can still empathize with the bonds of affection between parent and child in her works.”

Seeking to use literature to create a bridge between Okinawa and Vietnam, Nhien plans to introduce Okinawan folklore in Vietnam.

Higuchi’s works have been translated into Vietnamese from the foreign-language editions, but not direct from the original Japanese. When Nhien returned temporarily to her home country from Nago, a former teacher and a publisher encouraged her to translate and publish the works in Vietnamese. The project took over one year to complete. Nhien had previously studied Kenji Miyasawa’s works and translated them into Vietnamese during her master’s degree program at Meio University. She then turned her attention to Higuchi’s works. “They are representative works of Japanese literature. I have tried to study her works from a woman’s viewpoint,” she said.

She included the four works of “Jusanya (Thirteenth Night),” “Nigorie (Troubled Waters),” “Yamizakura” (Flowers at Dusk) and “Takekurabe” (Child’s Play) in one book. Nhien visited the places that appeared these works in order to best depict the four seasons of Japan, so she has experienced the world of Higuchi.

In addition to literary works, from this July Nhien has been introducing Okinawan folklore in a weekly magazine for Vietnamese children. “I like to introduce a variety of stories,” she said. With researchers at Osaka City University she translated “A Collection of Poems for Independence, Freedom and Requiem of Vietnam by 175 Poets,” which was published by Coalsack Co.

Seiki Senaha, the president of Meio University, encouraged her, saying, “Her desire to convey culture in interactive ways is marvelous. She is an inspiration to Japanese students. We want the students to follow her lead through international cultural exchange.”

(English translation by T&CT, Mark Ealey)

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