Adaptations of Western Literature in Meiji Japan

This book examines three examples of late nineteenth-century Japanese adaptations of Western literature: a biography of U.S. Grant recasting him as a Japanese warrior, a Victorian novel reset as oral performance, and an American melodrama redone as a serialized novel promoting the reform of Japanese theater. Written from a comparative perspective, it argues that adaptation (hon'an) was a valid form of contemporary Japanese translation that fostered creative appropriation across many genres and among a diverse group of writers and artists. In addition, it invites readers to reconsider adaptation in the context of translation theory. Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-7 Toward a Theory of Adaptation: Hon’an in Meiji Japan....Pages 9-21 More Romance than Reality: Ulysses S. Grant as Japanese Warrior....Pages 23-75 From Madness To Murder: Victorian Novel As Ninjôbanashi....Pages 77-109 A Visible Poetics: American Dime Novel as Paradigm for Theater Reform....Pages 111-139 Conclusion....Pages 141-144 Back Matter....Pages 145-180