The relationship between translations of English literature, English literary studies and socio-cultural current of thought in Japan in the Meiji era

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  • 翻訳序文に見る明治の英文学翻訳
  • ホンヤク ジョブン ニ ミル メイジ ノ エイブンガク ホンヤク

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between Japanese translations of English literature, English literary studies, and socio-cultural current of thought in the Meiji era in Japan. Having been translated by academic researchers, the Japanese translations of English literature have apparently been governed by the academia of English literary studies. Also, the academia has been developed as an institutionalised system under Japan's ideology of striving for Westernisation. In order to demonstrate how translations of English literature, English literary studies and socio-cultural aspects were intertwined with each other, this paper explores the following three steps: descriptions of the forewords of some Japanese translations from Shakespeare's works; analysis of how the concept of translation depicted in the forewords was closely associated with the development and the status of the English literary studies of the time; analysis of how the relationship between the translations and the academia was socio-culturally governed by the current of thought of the time. As a result of the analysis of the three steps, the paper aims to clarify the relationship between translations of English literature, English literary studies and socio-cultural current of thought.

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