Repositori URV

Identifier: TDX:1264

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX1264

Authors:
Karashima, David James

Abstract:
Haruki Murakami is the most widely read contemporary Japanese author today. His books have been translated into more than forty languages, have become bestsellers in many countries, and have garnered critical acclaim internationally. Critics often point tocertain characteristics and themes in his work to explain Murakami’s success within various cultural and national contexts. However, while there is no question that Murakami’s fictional worlds have spoken to readers worldwide, his success cannot be fully understood through an analysis of his works alone. The majority of Japanese literature in English translation is produced and published on the margins of the US/UK publishing industries for relatively niche audiences. This has been possible largely due to patronage extended by government and cultural organizations that assist authors who have achieved a certain status within the Japanese literary field to make inroads into the foreign markets. Murakami might seem an exception to this trend. He enjoys prestigious mainstream outlets in English in the form of his publisher, Knopf (Random House), and the New Yorker magazine, and he did not benefit from government support in launching his career abroad. Nevertheless, Murakami’s case is similar to other translated Japanese authors in that it was by improving his position within Japanese publishing circles that he initially gained the opportunity to be published in English. What sets Murakami apart from other contemporary Japanese writers, however, is how he was able to gain a firm foothold in the Anglophone market and gradually improve his positions within it with the help of editors, scholars, literary agents, translators, and other individuals. This dissertation examines the role of these various key players involved in tr