Classical Receptions Journal Vol 7. Iss. 2 (2015) pp. 260–275
A pioneer of classical studies in Japan,
Shigeichi Kure: a focus on his
translationsz
Ichiro Taida*
This article introduces Shigeichi Kure (1897–1977), a pioneer of Classical literature
studies in Japan. Kure’s numerous translations of Classical literature, from a
translation studies perspective, involved two principal strategies, foreignization and
domestication. His translation style is sometimes described as unique and there are
arguments both for and against his translations. However, it is certain that he
successfully melded the foreign and domestic aspects of his translation work in such
a way that he may be considered as the father of future Classical studies in Japan.
Japan’s long history of Classical studies began when European missionaries first arrived
and started to teach Latin in missionary schools in Japan during the mid-sixteenth
century. After a prolonged period of Japanese national isolationism (1639–1854), a
German philosopher, Raphael von Koeber (1848–1923), was asked to Japan in 1893
by the Japanese government. He taught Greek and Latin at Tokyo Imperial University,
and he laid the foundation for a thriving discipline. Today, the Classical Society of
Japan, which was formed in 1950, now has more than 500 members.
Professional translations have played an important part in the establishment of
Classical studies in Japan; so much so, that almost all major Classical works are
available in translation. The impact of these translated works can be seen in the
classical themes that have been taken up in modern Japanese novels,1 comics,2
and films.3 Any local understanding of these works is wholly dependent on
Japanese translations. Almost from the outset, the person most responsible for
*Correspondence: Associate Professor, Department of Applied Japanese, I-Shou
University, No. 1, Sec. 1, Syuecheng Rd, Dashu District, Kaohsiung City 84001,Taiwan,
R.O.C. [email protected]
z
All the citations in this paper are originally Japanese and were translated by the author
(Ichiro Taida). The paper is based on the author’s oral presentation at the ‘‘Translation
and Modernization in East Asia in the 19th and Early 20th Century Conference’’ held at
the Chinese University of Hong Kong, 29-31 May 2013. Kure’s translations are cited
from the following books. Homer: Kure (1964) (the Iliad) and Kure (1971 and 1972) (the
Odyssey), Aeschylus: Kozu (1964b), Euripides: Matsudaira (1965), Aristophanes: Kozu
(1964a), Latin works: Kure (1991).
1 E.g. Yukio Mishima’s Shiosai,Koji Yanagi’s Kyoen.
2 E.g. Osamu Tezuka’s Hinotori, Masami Kurumada’s Saint Seiya.
3 E.g. Hayao Miyazaki’s Kaze no Tani no Naushika, Mari Yamazaki’s Thermae Romae.
ß The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
For Permissions, please email: [email protected]
doi:10.1093/crj/clu015
A PIONEER OF CLASSICAL STUDIES IN JAPAN, SHIGEICHI KURE
establishing the foundation for future Japanese translations of Western Classics is
Shigeichi Kure (1897–1977), a pioneering scholar of Classics and the first president
of the Classical Society of Japan.
In this article, I will introduce Professor Kure, and focus on some of his accomplished translations. Although Kure has sometimes provided commentary on his
translation work and some scholars have made comments on these translations, there
is neither a comprehensive nor detailed study of his translations and their impact on
Classical studies in Japan.
Kure’s life and translation work
Shigeichi Kure was born in Tokyo as the firstborn son of Shuzo Kure (1865–1932), a
pioneer in the field of psychiatry. Kure’s father wanted his son to follow in his
footsteps and to become a doctor. Following his father’s wish,4 Shigeichi enrolled
in the Department of Medicine at Tokyo Imperial University in 1919. However, he
soon began to worry about his future as a doctor, so he decided to transfer to the
University’s College of Letters. There, he majored in Western Classical literature
because of his wish to study the origins of Western civilization that had so influenced
the modernization process contemporary Japanese society was undergoing at the
time of his studies.5
After graduating from university in 1925, Kure went on to do his postgraduate
studies in Europe at the University of Oxford and at the University of Vienna. He
returned to Japan in 1928 and started to teach Classical languages at Tokyo Imperial
University. In 1950, Kure founded the Classical Society of Japan along with other
like-minded professors and became the society’s first president. In 1963, Kure
became the first director of the Japanese Academy in Rome. Returning to Japan
in 1966, Kure accepted the post of professor at Ueno Gakuen University and taught
both Classical languages and history until his death on 28 December, 1977.6
Among Kure’s various research activities,7 his translations are especially noteworthy. In all, he translated and published nearly one hundred works. Most of
Kure’s publications were translations of Greek or Latin literature; with his translations of Greek literature being almost three times more numerous than those of his
Latin translations. Besides ancient Greek and Latin literature, he also published
translated anthologies of European poetry8 and even ancient Egyptian hymnals.
4 Kure (1970: 184).
5 Kure (1970: 188–9).
6 For the life and works of Kure, see Kobayashi (1992: 300–1), Notsu (1996: 111),
Watanabe (2008: 10–11), and Watanabe (2011: 234–9).
7 For the whole list of Kure’s publications, see Mizutani (2003: 571–93).
8 Kure translated the Franciscae Meae Laudes of Baudelaire, the Laokoon of Lessing, and
sonnets of Dante.
261
ICHIRO TAIDA
Comparing Kure’s verse and prose, his translated verse is 3.5 times more numerous
than that of his prose.
Moreover, we must draw attention to Kure’s Greek Myths (Japanese title:
), which has already gone into several editions. One of his significant achievements was making contemporary Japanese society become more familiar with Greek
mythology. Sales of his edition of Greek Myths, first published in 1956, have reached
150,000. In the light of these considerable sales figures, Kure and Saeki, who is a
scholar of American literature, explained that Greek myths were often co-opted in
the twentieth century’s contemporary literature and drama, and that young Japanese
people encountering new foreign literature thus became interested in Greek myths.9
In his book, Kure introduced stories of the older Gods (Gaia, Uranus, Prometheus,
etc.) and the Olympians (Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Artemis, etc.), legends of royal
families (Aeolus’ family and Tantalus’ family) and tales of important regions
(Thebes, Crete, Thessaly, and Attica), heroic sagas (Perseus and Heracles), and
epic stories (the story of Argo and that of the Trojan war including outlines of
the Iliad and the Odyssey).
Strategies in Kure’s Translations (1): foreignization
Shigeichi Kure’s translations, when considered in detail, involve two basic strategies, foreignization and domestication. The strategy of foreignization creates a target
text that deliberately breaks target conventions by retaining something of the foreignness sourced from the original. The strategy of domestication designates a type
of translation in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the
strangeness of the foreign text for the target language readers.10
Kure’s use of foreignization provides considerable evidence of the great effort he
undertook to create a Western archaic atmosphere within the scope of his Japanese
translations. His translation style preserved the original archaism by using their own
particularly archaic style. Goro Maeda remarked, ‘The beauty of Kure’s Japanese
deserves its fine reputation. When he translates, he understands the meaning of
ancient Western languages and his Japanese translations are filled with an ancient
atmosphere . . . His translation brings readers to ancient Greece’.11 The following
serves as a good example: in his Homeric Iliad, in a scene (3. 441) in which Paris
seduces Helen, Kure translated the passage ‘2ll1 4g" d1 ’il0thti trap"0 om"n
"2nhq"#nt"’ into Japanese with a classical — some would even say archaic — flavour.
In English, the Japanese might be rendered something like: ‘But lo! Let us ascend to
the bed and allow our feelings of affection to be satisfied.’12 To appreciate this
9
10
11
12
Kure and Saeki (1970: 12).
Yang (2010: 77).
Maeda (1958: 2).
In Japanese: ‘
,
,
,
262
’ (Kure 1964: 125).
A PIONEER OF CLASSICAL STUDIES IN JAPAN, SHIGEICHI KURE
deliberate archaism contrast Kure’s translation with the 1992 translation of Chiaki
Matsudaira, where the same line in Japanese resembles the English: ‘But now, let’s
enjoy making love in our bed.’13
Secondly, a careful observation of each word Kure chose demonstrates that he
sought to preserve a Western Classical style within each text. Let us focus on Kure’s
use of furigana which is written alongside some Chinese characters (kanji). Usually,
the furigana consists of phonetic characters that indicate how the kanji should be
pronounced. For example, Kure translated Il. 1. 305 ‘lNsan d’ 2gor1n par1 nhus1n
+cai8n’ (they broke up the assembly beside the ships of the Achaeans) as ‘
(
)
( )
( )
’. There are six kanji in this phrase ( , ,
, , and ) and Kure added the furigana to four kanji: ‘
’ to
, ‘ ’ to
and ‘ ’ to . He chose not to write furigana for two of the kanji, because it would
have been obvious for Japanese readers to read as ‘ ’ and as ‘ ’. As I said
above, the use of furigana usually shows the pronunciation of its kanji. However with
some of the kanji, Kure added furigana to show the original Greek pronunciation of
the word and not that of its kanji. For example, he translates ‘LoNsai’ at Il. 2. 484 as
’ adding the furigana ‘
’ (/mūsai/), when the normal practice would be to
‘
add ‘
’ (/shishin/) to show the pronunciation of ‘
’.14
Thirdly, the mixture of different forms of Japanese language is another noticeable
feature commonly found in Kure’s translations. Kure argued that this sort of deliberate blending was due to his chosen adherence to the Greek style, saying: ‘There
are some people who criticize my translation because it includes modern words,
archaic words and poetical words altogether.15 However, contemporary words,
13 In Japanese: ‘
,
’ (Matsudaira 1992:
107–8).
14 In Kure’s translations, proper nouns are often found to have such special furigana: Il.
1. 402 e‘kat0gc"iron ‘
’(
), Il. 2. 401 Arho”
!
‘
’(
), Il. 3. 6
Pugma0 oisi ‘
’(
), Il. 5. 353 ri” ‘
’(
), Il. 5. 518 E
! ri” ‘
’(
), Il. 5. 845 AEdo”
!
‘
’(
), Od. 11. 109 *H "l0 ou ‘
’(
),
E. IT. 294 *ErinN” ‘
’(
), Ar. Av. 1320 V0rit"” ‘
’(
),
Hor. Odes 1. 4. 11 Fauno ‘
’(
). Additionally, Kure chose to give special
furigana to some common nouns: Il. 1. 473 pai–ona (a festive song) ‘
’(
), Il.
2. 723 4drou (a water-serpent) ‘
’(
), Il. 5. 416 2c8 (the blood of the gods) ‘
’
(
), Od. 1. 372 2gor–nd" (to the place of assembly) ‘
’(
), Od. 2. 330
krht8ri (a mixing bowl) ‘
’(
), Od. 2. 349 2m’i’or"Nsin (two-handled jars)
‘
’(
), Od. 4. 41 z"i0” (a growing plant) ‘
’(
), Od. 5. 64
kup0risso” (the cypress) ‘
’(
), E. Alc. 965 +n0gka” (necessity) ‘
’(
), Ar. Av. 251 2lku0n"ssi (mythical birds) ‘
’(
), Hor. Odes
1. 4. 9 myrto (a myrtle-tree) ‘
’(
).
15 For example, Ogawa (1959: 171) criticized Kure because of his mixture of several kinds of
words.
263
ICHIRO TAIDA
archaic words, dead words whose meanings have become obscure, and the words of
later periods are mixed in the lexicon of Homer, and he used them as he liked. I did
not imitate him, but Homer definitely influenced my expression.’16
As Kure said, by following the established Homeric style, he was able to use both
old and new Japanese words as part of his translation work. It is widely known that
Homeric poetry contains some words especially coined for metrical purposes,17 and
it is also apparent that archaisms make up an important feature of Homeric
language.18
Like Homer before him, Kure coined some of his own unique phrases through
his Japanese translations. For example, in a popular scene taken from the Odyssey,
Odysseus tells Polyphemus, a gigantic Cyclops, that Odysseus’ name was ‘OBti”’
(nobody), before he blinds the monster: Od. 9. 366 OBti” "*mo0 g’ 5noma ‘Nobody is
my name’.19 Kure’s translation is ‘
’. He translated ‘OBti”’
’ and then added the furigana ‘
’ to indicate
using the kanji ‘
that the kanji should be read as meaning ‘nobody does’. To the Japanese reader,
there is something humorous about these five kanji and their accompanying furigana. As Japanese names are usually composed of Chinese characters, Japanese
readers instantly understand that ‘
’ is a person’s name, although quite a
strange one. When Odysseus introduces himself with this strange alias, we fully
understand that he is trying to cheat the Cyclops and to make fun of the monster at
the same time. Although we understand why Polyphemus believed Odysseus’ selfintroduction because ‘
’ looks like a real name, we laugh at how the deceived
Cyclops is so gullible, and we learn the wiles of Odysseus. Then when we read that
the cyclopean monster was blinded and tells his friends, ‘It is Nobody that is slaying
me’ at Od. 9. 408, we understand the full implication of the name ‘
’. Finally
Odysseus says at Od. 9. 413-4 ‘My heart laughed within me that my name and
’ makes Japanese
flawless scheme had so beguiled’. Kure’s coined name ‘
readers laugh along with Odysseus, just like Homer made Greek listeners laugh long
before. Kure’s translation is able to preserve the implied wiles and wisdom of
Odysseus, and the intention of Homer, without giving away the tale’s familiar
punchline.20
16 Kure (1969). He made a similar argument in the prefaces of his translations of the Iliad
(1964) and the Odyssey (1971).
17 Stanford (1959: xix). E.g. 2gkuloc"0lh”, kuanoca0th”, and m"tad0rpio”.
18 See Stanford (1959: xix), Finkelberg (2011: 79). Examples of archaisms in Homeric
language are 2mi0noiEn, endings like –’i, and the genitive in –oio.
19 I have used Murray’s English translation of the Odyssey (Loeb).
20 Among other examples of words coined by Kure, the following ones are worth mentioning: at Il. 5. 777 Kure translated 2mbros0 hn (ambrosia, the food of the gods) by using his
coined word ‘
’ which is composed from the characters meaning ‘wizard’ þ ‘perfume’ þ ‘food’. Also Il. 3. 107 3p"rbas0 : (wrongdoing) is translated as ‘
’ (‘illegality’ þ ‘shamelessness’) and Od. 2. 19 J0klwy (a Cyclops) as ‘
’
(‘one’ þ ‘eye’ þ ‘demon’).
264
A PIONEER OF CLASSICAL STUDIES IN JAPAN, SHIGEICHI KURE
At the same time, it may be noted that Kure’s translations contain an abundance
of ancient Japanese words, like archaisms in Homer. For example, at Il. 1. 438, Kure
’, a very ancient formulation. The oldest example of the
translated e‘kat0mbhn as ‘
use of this word is found in Kojiki, Japan’s oldest history text which was compiled
around 712 A.D.21
Fourthly, in another linguistic practice which followed normative Greek literature, Kure sometimes used variant synonyms in his translations. For example, in
Homeric epics, the names of Odysseus and Achilles are stated in two different ways:
dus"0” and duss"0”; and +cil"0” and +cill"0”. In like fashion, Kure chose to
use variant synonyms as part of his Japanese translations:22 he translated duss"0”
’ at Il. 1. 145, but ‘
’ at Il. 1. 430.23
as ‘
Moreover, the use of the following devices in Kure’s translations has a similar
impact to that of the variant synonyms. For example, Kure used several different
kanji for expressing a single word. He wrote ‘
’, which expresses the notion of
‘anger’ in several different ways: (Il. 1. 1 L8nin),
(Il. 1. 387 c0lo”), (Il. 1.
422 m–ni’), (Il. 1. 429 cw0m"non).24
Further, Kure chose to add different furigana to one or more kanji. For example,
he wrote ‘ ’ (holy, Il. 4. 46 3r–) adding the furigana ‘
’, while adding an25
’ to the ‘ ’ at Il. 4. 121 3 "r8”. This strategy has several
other furigana ‘
effects. First, it keeps the repetition of a same word out of his translation: e.g.
(dear): ‘
’ (Il. 5. 359 ’0 l"), ‘
’ (Il. 5. 364 ’0 lon). Secondly, it adjusts
21 Examples of such archaic words include: Il. 1. 5 o2wno8si (birds) ‘
’ (Honchō Zoku
Monzui, 1142–55 A.D.), Il. 1. 61 loim0” (a plague) ‘
’ (Nihon Kōki, 840 A.D.), Il. 1.
312 3gr1 k"#l"uqa (watery ways) ‘
’ (Engishiki Norito, 927 A.D.), Il. 1. 431 4gwn
(bringing) ‘
’ (Taketori Monogatari, around 900 A.D.), Il. 2. 355 katakoimhq8nai
(go to sleep) ‘
’ (The Tale of Genji, around 1001–14 A.D.), Il. 2. 399 d"8pnon (the
principal meal of the day) ‘
’ (Sanbokukikashu, circa 1128 A.D.).
22 Kure (1964: 3–4).
23 See also the following examples of variant synonyms: LhtÞ (Leto): Il. 1. 36 ‘
’, Il.
5. 447 ‘
’. k"’alI (the head): Il. 3. 168 ‘
’, Il. 3. 193 ‘
’. poim"#na la8n (a
shepherd of men): Il. 4. 296 ‘
’, Il. 5. 144 ‘
’. m– (lest): Il. 6. 68 ‘
’, Il. 6.
264 ‘
’. 2"ik"#a (unseemly): Od. 4. 339 ‘
’ Od. 4. 694 ‘
’.
24 This feature may also be observed in the following examples:
(armor): (Il. 1. 371
calkocit0nwn),
(Il. 2. 47 calkocit0nwn),
(Il. 2. 163 calkocit0nwn),
(Il.
3. 29 t"0c"sin),
(Il. 3. 332 qÞrhka).
(rich):
(Il. 2. 570 2’n"i0n),
(Il. 2.
825 2’n"0o0). (a follower):
(Il. 2. 540 5zo”), (Il. 2. 842 5zo”).
(a car):
(Il.
3. 260 z"ugn0m"nai),
(Il. 3. 263 6ppou”).
25 In the following examples, Kure also added different furigana to one or more kanji.
(a
soldier): ‘
’ (Il. 1. 242 2ndro’0noio), ‘
’ (Il. 6. 350 2ndr1”).
(armor): ‘
’ (Il. 3. 29 t"0c"sin), ‘
’ (Il. 3. 327 t"0c"a). (a line): ‘
’ (Il. 3. 113 st0 ca”),
‘ ’ (Il. 4. 90 st0 c"”).
(a breastplate): ‘
’ (Il. 3. 332 qÞrhka), ‘
’ (Il. 4.
133 qÞrhx).
265
ICHIRO TAIDA
the rhythm of the text.26 For example, Kure added different furigana to ‘
’
(bronze), and he seems to have made a choice according to the rhythm in the following three textual cases:
‘
’ (/karakane/, Il. 1. 371 calkocitÞnwn):
ka-ra-ka-ne-no yo-ro-i-wo-tsu-ke-ta (five-seven syllables)
‘
’ (/magane/, Il. 1. 426 "9 mi . . . calkobat";” d8)
ma-ga-ne-shi-ku mi-ya-i-ni-mo-u-de (seven-seven)
‘
’ (/kane/, Il. 5. 75 yucr1n d’ "2 l" calk1n 2doNsin)
tsu-me-ta-i-ka-ne-wo mo-ro-ha-ni-ka-n-da (seven-seven)
Kure understood that the translations must sound euphonic, because five-seven, sevenfive, or seven-seven syllable patterns usually sound more comfortable for Japanese
people.27 Kure deliberately chose each furigana for making a good rhythm.28 Thirdly,
the strategy makes the expression of his translation more effective. For example, we
usually call ‘ ’ (the palm of the hand) as ‘
’ in ordinary conversation. Therefore,
when ‘ ’ is used in a speech of a character (i.e. Achilles) at Il. 1. 238 pal0m:”, Kure’s
furigana ‘
’ is appropriate. But when it is used in a narrative part like at Il. 6. 318
(c"ir1), Kure’s choice of another furigana ‘
’ is also appropriate. ‘
’ is a
Classical Japanese word and it makes the translation sound more dignified. Moreover,
when Agamemnon was angry with Achilles and called himself as ‘ ’ (‘I’, at Il. 1. 132),
Kure added the furigana ‘ ’ which is usually used by men informally. Therefore, it
suggests that Agamemnon does not respect Achilles and makes him aware of who is
higher ranked. On the other hand, when Helen talked with Priam and called herself as ‘ ’
(Il. 3. 180), Kure used another furigana ‘
’. This is a polite pronoun meaning ‘I’ and
it suggests Helen respected Priam.
Another strategy was to add the same furigana to different kanji. Thus, Kure
’ to ‘
’ (an old man, Il. 1. 358 g"#ronti) and ‘
’
added the same furigana, ‘
26 In the preface of his Iliad, Kure (1964: 3) argued ‘In translation I have taken great care in
pitch and rhythm’.
27 Let us remember traditional Japanese poems: Haiku has 5-7-5 and Tanka 5-7-5-7-7
syllables.
28 Similarly, Kure translated ‘
’ (hair) in two ways and made a good rhythm: ‘
’ (/
kaminoke/, Il. 2. 65 kom0wnta” ‘having abundant hair’),
ka-mi-noke-wo ta-re-na-bi-ka-se-ru (five-seven syllables), ‘
’ (/kami/, Il. 2. 542 5piq"n
kom0wnt"” ‘having abundant hair at the back’),
u-shi-ro-ga-wada-ke ka-mi-wo-no-ba-shi-ta (seven-seven).
266
A PIONEER OF CLASSICAL STUDIES IN JAPAN, SHIGEICHI KURE
(an old god, Il. 1. 538 g"#ronto”).29 The effect of the strategy is to mainly appeal to the
visual sense. For example, it is possible to translate Il. 1. 538 ("#ti”,) qug0thr 3l0 oio
g"#ronto” as either ‘
’(daughter of the old god of the sea) or ‘
’
(daughter of the old man of the sea). But ‘
’, which Kure chose to adopt, makes us
notice that Thetis is a daughter of a god and that she is sacred, at the moment of
seeing the word.
According to Shogo Kawasoko, a student of Kure and a like-minded scholar of
Western Classics, there are two salient features which demonstrate that Kure consciously strove to preserve a consistently Western Classical style within the translations of his Japanese texts.30 First, it was Kure who advised Kawasoko not to write
‘
’ (Greece), but instead to write ‘
’ (Greece), because the original Latin
word (Graecia) contained the sound ‘ ’ (/a/). Secondly, Kure went on to criticize
Kawasoko for deleting all of the Japanese macrons that had been used to indicate a
long vowel sound in the proper nouns found in his original translation. For Kure,
they must be kept to maintain the translation’s affinity with Classical texts.
Strategies in Kure’s translations (2): domestication
It is important to note that Kure also used domestication strategies in his translation
work in addition to foreignization. First, he sometimes made a translation feel more
naturally Japanese by adjusting the meaning of Classical texts to meet standards of
contemporary Japanese sensibility. For example, epithets occur with greater frequency in epic than in regular modern literature. If it were quite literally translated,
the Japanese translation of such an epithetical word or phrase would sometimes seem
unnatural, perhaps even discordant, to the ear. Therefore, Kure occasionally chose
to translate an epithet by adjusting its meaning in accordance with the given situation at hand. For example, although 2m0mwn is usually meant to denote the notion
of ‘blameless, excellent’, Kure translated 2m0mono” A2g0sqoio at Od. 1. 29 as ‘
’ (‘pleasant’ Aegisthus), choosing this epithet because Aegisthus is in fact
an adulterer so that the adjective ‘blameless’ would be inappropriate used to describe
him.31 Moreover, "*c"’# rwn usually is meant to denote ‘sensible’, but Kure translated
"*c"’
# rona (Phn"l0p"ian) at Od. 13. 406 as ‘
’ (constant), because the
Japanese word implies that Penelope constantly awaited her husband Odysseus’
29 Such a device may be noticed in the following examples:
(clearly): ‘ ’ (Il. 1. 514
nhm"rt";”), ‘ ’ (Il. 5. 128 "B gignÞsk:”).
(a country): ‘ ’ (Il. 2. 140 patr0 da
ga8an), ‘ ’ (Il. 2. 178 patr0 do” a4h”), ‘
’ (Il. 2. 290 o9 kon), ‘ ’ (Il. 2. 852 *En"t8n).
(Ares): ‘ ’ (Il. 2. 381 Arha),
!
‘
’ (Il. 2. 401 Arho”).
!
(white silver): ‘ ’ (Il.
2. 753 2rgurod0 n:), ‘ ’ (Il. 2. 857 2rg0rou).
(a soldier): ‘ ’ (Il. 4. 254 ’0lagga”),
‘
’ (Il. 4. 394 "*pi"0 k"lo” 2qan0toisin).
(armor): ‘ ’ (Il. 3. 327 t"0c"a), ‘
’
(Il. 4. 504 t"0c"’).
(a lady): ‘ ’ (Il. 3. 159 to0 h), ‘
’ (Il. 3. 171 gunaik8n).
30 Kawasoko (1978: 10).
31 See Kure (1971: 419).
267
ICHIRO TAIDA
return.32 When a very commonplace epithet d8o”, whose original is meant to denote
‘divine, noble, goodly’, is used for Eumaeus, a lowly swineherd, Kure translated the
’ (soft-hearted: Od. 14. 48, 401, 413 d8o” 3’orb0”).33 If Kure had
word as ‘
translated the phrase as ‘divine swineherd’, Japanese readers would have felt that his
translation was strangely disjointed. He translated d8a V0rubdi” at Od. 12. 235 as ‘
’ (‘terrible’ Charybdis) to emphasize the nature of Charybdis’ monstrosity. Finally, in the scene of Odysseus’ journey to the Greek underworld,
Agamemnon hopes that his son Orestes is still alive, so he calls him ‘d8o” r"#sth”’
at Od. 11. 461. Kure translated this as ‘
’ (‘precious’ Orestes) to underscore Agamemnon’s emotional state as a father. The three Japanese meanings (‘softhearted’, ‘terrible’, and ‘precious’) are far from the original meaning of d8o”, but they
are entirely appropriate towards meeting the context of the translation.
Secondly, Kure’s use of archaic Japanese words can be offered as an example not
only of foreignization, but also of domestication at the same time. It is worth noting
) was especially influthat the oldest anthology of Japanese poetry Manyoshu (
ential on Kure’s later translations. For example, he once translated a hymnal verse to
the ancient Egyptian Sun God Aten which meant ‘I would like you to be here’ with
the Japanese phrase ‘kimi imasokari tamae re ba (
)’.34 Although
Kure translated the verb form ‘to be’ as ‘imasokari’, contemporary translators might
choose instead to translate it as ‘iru’ or ‘aru’ in the modern Japanese language.
However, the word ‘imasokari’ is both intelligible and appropriate in giving the
text an archaic air. In defending this singular word, borrowed directly from the text
of Manyoshu, Kure commented that ‘iru’ or ‘aru’ were too light in their relative
meaning to adequately express the existence of the Sun God. He believed the textual
gravitas achieved by employing ‘imasokari’ was far more suitable in such a context.35
Moreover, as Kure further pointed out, one of the reasons he chose to use archaic
Japanese words throughout his translations was that the words contained in the
Manyoshu included many particles and were thus more useful at conveying feelings
and for creating subtlety in sentence structures.36 Interestingly, Western Classical
literature includes a lot of particlization. Homer is said to have overused particles in
many of his texts — t", g", me#n, etc.37 This common linguistic point occurring
between the Greek and the Japanese languages must have inspired Kure to
choose certain archaic Japanese words for inclusion in his translation.
Furthermore, such a notion may be demonstrated with the following list of words
taken from Kure’s translations and that are also found in the Manyoshu: Il. 1. 216
32
33
34
35
36
37
See Kure (1972: 394).
See Kure (1971: 419).
Kure (1991: 12).
Kure (1976: 218).
Kure (1976: 220).
Kure (1976: 220). For the particles in Homeric language, see Monro (1891: 299–338) and
Chantraine (1953: 340–50).
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A PIONEER OF CLASSICAL STUDIES IN JAPAN, SHIGEICHI KURE
’ (Manyoshu 79), Il. 1. 230 2nt0 on "4p: (speaks in opposition to) ‘
’ (M. 3253), Il. 1. 312 3gr0 (fluid) ‘
’ (M. 4094) , Il. 2. 713 p0i” (a son) ‘
’
’ (M. 2026), Od. 5. 72
(M. 3459), Od. 5. 54 pol""# ssin (multitudinous) ‘
’ (M. 2762), Od. 5. 141 e‘ta8roi (coml"im8n"” malako0 (soft meadows) ‘
)’ (M. 3622), E. Alc. 861 pr0sodoi (approach) ‘
’ (M. 905), Hor.
rades) ‘ (
Odes 1. 4. 9 caput impedire (wreathe the brow)‘
’ (M. 1559), Prop. 2. 15. 35 alio
(other) ‘ ’ (M. 1947).
Thirdly, Kure sometimes used special expressions found in kanji, which are
peculiar to both Japanese and other Asian cultures. Kango (
) is one of the
major categories38 of Japanese vocabulary, and it is a Japanese word of Chineseloan origin. Since Japan started westernization in the mid-nineteenth century, many
Kango were coined to express Western ideas and cultural expression which flowed
into Japan.39 Moreover, it is known that intellectuals of the Meiji period (1868–
1912) had a sound knowledge of Chinese Classics. Therefore, it was common that
sentences written in Japanese had many Kango or were representative of the Chinese
Classical style. Such sentences would have been immediately understandable for
readers of Meiji period.40 Kure’s father, Shuzo, studied Chinese Classics extensively,41 and Kure shared a great appreciation of Chinese Classics possibly because
of his father’s influence. Kure sometimes used Classical Chinese literary terms in his
Japanese translations: e.g.
(a foreign tongue, Il. 2. 867 barbaro’Þnwn),
(veil, E. IT. 372 kalumm0twn),
(a web, E. IT. 1150 ’0r"a),
(a sting E. IT.
1456 o4stroi”). Moreover, he often used distinctive four-character idiomatic compounds (
, Yojijukugo) of Chinese origin: e.g. ‘
’ (4brin, Od. 16. 86),
‘
’ (2"kaz0m"no”, Od. 18. 135), ‘
’ (2damant0 nwn A. Pr. 6).42 The effect
of using Yojijukugo is that Kure’s translation becomes more convincing because
Yojijukugo is sometimes used to express a proverb and thus makes his translation
more dignified.
Similarly, Kure used terms borrowed from Buddhist scripture,43 which make
his translation have gravitas and therefore become more sacred. As such, these
’
translations are entirely appropriate for use with Greek and Roman Classics: ‘
( )’ ([without] negligence, Il. 1. 77 pr0’rwn), ‘
(a prayer, Il. 1. 65 "2cwl8”), ‘
’ (destiny, Il. 2. 155 3p"#rmora), ‘
’ (recklessness, Il. 4. 409 2tasqal0 :sin), ‘
e! po” (a word) ‘
38 Other categories are Wago (
) which are native Japanese words and Gairaigo (
)
which are words borrowed from foreign countries.
39 See Yanabu (2010: 11–12).
40 See Saito (2012: 170).
41 See Dohi (1982: 62) and Fujikawa (1982: 69).
42 See also ‘
’ (Tartarus, A. Pr.
’ (insolent, Od. 1. 227 3br0 zont"”) and ‘
154 S0rtaron.
43 Kure said he often read Buddhist texts since he was a junior high school student (Kure
1970: 189).
269
ICHIRO TAIDA
’ (a shroud, Od. 2. 99 ta’–Eon), ‘
’ (a basin, E. Alc. 99 phga8on), ‘
’
’ (supremacy, Hor. Odes 1. 4. 18 regna).
(Hades, E. IA. 461 ıidh”), ‘
Fourthly, attention should be drawn to the influence of Japanese traditional art
forms on Kure’s overall method of translation. Kure possessed a great storehouse of
knowledge and a subtle appreciation of Japanese traditional arts. As Yusuke Noma
observed, Kure’s specialist knowledge included many topic areas of Japanese traditional culture: e.g. noh, jiutamai, kabuki and Japanese-style paintings.44 Indeed, it
was precisely because of these varied interests that Kure became the obvious candidate to become the first director of the Japanese Academy of Rome in 1963, whose
stated purpose was to introduce Japanese culture to European people, sometimes for
the very first time.45
Kure’s knowledge of Japanese traditional culture had a profound effect on his
translation style. For example, he translated Alcman fr. 89 "4dousi d’ 2r"#wn koru’a0
as ‘nemuru wa yama no mine (
[What sleeps is the mountaintop])’. If we
translated this sentence into vernacular Japanese, we would translate it as ‘yama no
mine wa nemuru (
[The mountaintop is asleep])’. Instead, Kure chose a
different path, alluding to Kanjinchō (
), one of Japan’s most famous Kabuki
plays, in his translation of Alcman’s poetic phrasing. In Kanjinchō, the phrase ‘naru wa
taki no mizu (
[What sounds is the waterfall])’ is repeated. As both mountaintops and waterfalls are regular features of Japanese classicism, Kure’s recall of the
phrase from the Kanjinchō when he translated Alcman’s song by using the expression
‘nemuru wa yama no mine’ is wholly appropriate.46
Kure and the two translation strategies
As mentioned above, two translation strategies (i.e. foreignization and domestication) coexist in equal measure within Kure’s overall translation work.47 He used
both strategies with great dexterity in order to bridge Western Classicism and
modern Japanese culture. Kure exerted considerable efforts to push Japanese readers’ acceptance of Western Classics by making the literature accessible to Japanese
aesthetic sensibilities.
One of the principal reasons why Kure used a foreignization strategy must be that
he was fascinated by the beauty found in Western Classics, and he wanted to let
Japanese readers appreciate it for themselves. For example, Masaaki Kubo, who is
the seventh president of the Classical Society of Japan, said, ‘Kure spared no effort
to bring his translations as close as possible to the perfect beauty which Greek and
44 Noma (1979: 23).
45 See ‘A Scholarly Ambassador to Rome: The Director of Japanese Academy in Rome,
Shigeichi Kure’, Shukan Bunshun, 22th April 1963: 18 (‘
–
–’,
,1963 4 22 ,18 ).
46 For this translation, see Kure (1976: 219).
47 Examples of the translators who have also chosen to use both strategies in their own
works include Roan Uchida, Ogai Mori, and Shiken Morita (Saito 2012: 56, 141).
270
A PIONEER OF CLASSICAL STUDIES IN JAPAN, SHIGEICHI KURE
Roman literary men had attained in their works.’48 This was a sentiment that Kure
sometimes expressed explicitly; claiming, for example, that the reason why the
Classics have such a long life is because they depend on the beauty that expresses
eternal humanity and truth.49 Furthermore, Kure himself had commented that he
was struck by the ethereal aesthetic of the Iliad: ‘First of all, its force, beauty and sad
precariousness caught my heart . . . Heroes are destined to war and death, young
men are pierced by spears in their breasts and women cry. They show the sadness
and beauty of human beings who must die and disappear.’50
However, the foreignization strategy would not prove sufficiently robust on its
own to open the door to foreign Classics for a modern Japanese readership. Although
westernization had proceeded incrementally in Japan, there are many possible reasons for a consistent societal rejection of Western cultural media: The long-term
duration of Japanese national isolationism, Japanese imperialism, Japan’s defeat in
World War II, the huge cultural differences in language systems, etc. So, it was here
that Kure’s domestication strategy came to the fore.
By means of his profound knowledge of Japanese literature, Kure was able to
make these Western Classics feel very Japanese while still preserving (as he saw it)
their inherent dignity. Kure embraced Western culture through distinctly Japanese
eyes. In many ways, this was understandable given his personal familiarity with so
many literary men from his childhood onwards. For example, the famous poet and
psychiatrist Mokichi Saito was a student of Kure’s father.51 As part of their relationship, Kure showed Saito his own Japanese poems and his translations of
Classical Western poetry.52 Similarly influential was Kure’s friendship with the
famous novelist Takeo Arishima who had a direct influence on the course of
Kure’s academic studies.53 Kure was surrounded by famous literary men and so a
literary career is not surprising. What is remarkable is that while he composed some
of his own Japanese poetry, it was in the field of translation that Kure was best able to
deploy his deep knowledge of Japanese literature and language.
Conclusion: evaluation of Kure’s translation
Kure’s translations are a direct combination of both ancient Western culture and
Japanese traditional culture. As such, they may rightfully be described as ‘unique’,
and critics are almost united in praise of their idiosyncracy. Kawasoko54 said that he
has been concerned for a long time with how to understand the charm found in the
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
Kubo (1978: 21).
Kure (1953: 12).
Kure (1969).
Kure (1976: 190–1).
Kure (1976: 192–8).
Kure (1947: 79), Kure (1970: 186).
Kawasoko (1978: 8).
271
ICHIRO TAIDA
unique style of Kure’s translation. Tatsuhiko Shibusawa55 said that he had paid
attention to Kure since he is one of the translators who chose to employ a unique
translation style.
It cannot be denied that there are arguments both for and against Kure’s translations. Many would echo Kawasoko’s observation made to Kure himself:
‘Contemporary students do not understand your translation because your
Japanese is too difficult.’56 Others criticize not the translations’ level of intelligibility, but of their style. As Sibusawa observed, the style of Kure’s translations has its
own special detractors.57 For example Masao Asai, a professor of German literature,
who argues that Kure’s translations exhibits a rather ‘feminine’ style that should not
be adopted for Western literature,58 and that we must instead translate using ‘formal
and logical’ Japanese language to transmit any essentials of European culture.59
Yet, even those scholars who are critical of his translations cannot deny the extent
of their collective influence. Kure’s translations have won numerous awards; for
example, in 1959 Kure received the Yomiuri Prize for Literature because of his
prodigious Japanese language translation of the Iliad. In 1973, Kure received a prize
for Flower Crown, an anthology of his selected translations. A review in the Asahi
Shimbun newspaper celebrated it as one of the best five translations available in
modern Japan.60 Thus, while opinions are clearly divided among scholars and reviewers alike on Kure’s translation, one thing, however, is certain. Kure’s translations represent one of the most significant channels by which Western Classical
literature has been spread in modern Japan. In 1948, Kure said that Classical literature, for example that of Dante Alighieri or Homer, was hardly ever read in
Japan.61 Kure’s translations changed all of this. In the space of his own lifetime,
Kure’s translations of Homer were published no less than four times. Even now,
Kure’s translations are still in reprint and readily found sold in bookstores throughout Japan. In the twenty-first century, new editions of Kure’s translations of the
Iliad and the Odyssey are to be published yet again.62 His translations have exhibited
an ‘umbrella effect’ so that other Classical literary works have enjoyed popularity in
55 Shibusawa (1978: 28). Shibusawa is a prolific translator from French literature, especially
the works taken from the Marquis de Sade, and he is well-known for his flowing, yet
colloquial, translation style.
56 Kawasoko (1978: 8–9).
57 Sibusawa (1978: 29).
58 Similarly Ogawa (1959: 170) criticizes Kure’s translation of the Iliad, saying that it is a
weak and an unprofessional translation.
59 Nishizawa (1986: 43–4).
60 Noma (1979: 21).
61 Kure (1948: 9).
62 The Iliad was republished in 2003 by Heibonsha, and the Iliad and the Odyssey in 2005 by
Issuisha.
272
A PIONEER OF CLASSICAL STUDIES IN JAPAN, SHIGEICHI KURE
Japan63. In 1978, Yaeko Nogami wrote a postscript to the Japanese edition of
Bulfinch’s The Age of Fable in translation. In the postscript, she said that the first
edition had been published in 1927, and ‘Compared with 1927, Western Classical
studies in Japan have developed very much. We have read many major works, for
example Homer and so on, in their original languages and have translated them into
Japanese without depending on English translations. I believe Shigeichi Kure is the
man who contributed the most to this work, and I have missed him greatly since he
died last winter’.64 This simple heartfelt appreciation of Kure’s pioneering role
provides a fair valuation of his significant influence on Classical studies in Japan.
Kure’s works should be remembered. Shigeichi Kure was able to successfully
meld65 both the foreign and the domestic aspects of his translation method and,
as a result, became the father of future Classical studies in Japan. The weight of his
contribution can be seen by the general acceptance of Western Classical literature in
Japan, and for that we owe him our deepest gratitude.
Acknowledgement
I am deeply grateful to Professor Masaaki Kubo, Dr. Yusuke Noma, and Mr.
Tadashi Kure for their helpful suggestions and comments. Also I would like to
express my gratitude to my family for their warm encouragement.
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’’,
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64 Nogami (1978: 460).
65 Regarding the melding Kure (1947: 125–6) argued, ‘It is important for Japanese scholars
to understand not only Western civilization but also Eastern culture. . . Our future culture will be very fruitful by marrying East and West’.
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ICHIRO TAIDA
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’’,
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’’,
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A PIONEER OF CLASSICAL STUDIES IN JAPAN, SHIGEICHI KURE
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275