Hibbett Response - Evan

Hibbett's thoughts on Tanizaki and his works were incredibly poignant. Something I found particularly interesting was the idea of "aestheticization", and Tanizaki writing to further the stereotype of "exotic Japan". Hibbett also spoke to the idea that Kawabata and Mishima are guilty of similar things, however, there is a case to be made about editors in New York providing that to the American public for their own reasons. That idea was more or less glossed over and forgotten in Hibbett's speech, but it really stood out to me and made me think of the compass we are in the process of forging as translators. Were the original texts of Mishima and Kawabata altered in some way to further an agenda in America? If so, how? It seems that Tanizaki was a separate case, but thinking of the integrity of translation work, this still set off alarm bells in my head. 

Hibbett saying, "Worse yet, I think, is the peril of retranslating, not from the original but from another translation," reminded me of our Snow Country translations. When writing my version of Snow Country, I found myself stressing over the fact that my translation was far too similar to the original, and Hibbett's sentiment here validates those feelings from a few weeks ago. 

This is completely unrelated, but I love the fact that Hibbett's first reading of Japanese literature happened to be Tanizaki, who he would then go on to translate for. I love those full-circle moments.