On Nagai Kafu and Kawabata Yasunari (Jane)

 There were two topics in this article that really stuck out to me. The first one was the art of translating being compared to a counterfeiter. The idea that the author is always right is something even I have a hard time with when translating stories. The way an author wrote something may sound awkward or almost childish when being translated directly into English. I think it is the way that the sentences are broken up and the simplicity of some Japanese words. In reality, what Seidansticker is absolutely right and I completely agree with this analogy. The author wrote the story in a specific way because it is their creation that they wanted to publish. Who are we as translators to change that based on our own opinions? When wording sounds awkward, I think it is still the translators duty to continue to translate as closely to the original text as possible because, in the end, the translation is simply a way of sharing that author's work to other audiences, not critique the author on their product. In the example he gave on the conversation between the sick man and woman, he talks about how the point of the conversation may fly over some readers' heads. However, just like in English books that write in metaphors, sometimes the point of the story is to be confusing. If that is given away, the whole purpose, beauty if you will, of the story is taken away.

The other point that he brought up that I never thought about was the flow of the translation compared to the original, especially in terms of syllables. Sometimes, when I translate, I don't like the way a sentence sounds compared to the original and I never could understand why. I simply assumed it was because of my instinct, another trait that translators should have according to Seidansticker. However, it was the flow of the sentence compared to the original that was not the same at all in my translations. Over explaining can be detrimental to the translation even though it can provide some context that the audience would not understand due to cultural differences. This is where, I think, translators have to be careful and ensure that the addition of information does not take away from the flow or the purpose of the story.

Overall, Siedansticker brought up good points regarding the hardships that translators face when translating texts. One final thing I found interesting was just his tone while speaking. Seidansticker was not afraid to voice his opinions, whether they were controversial or not. He even blatantly brought up the tension between Japanese translator and English translators.