Translation in Japanese Fairy Tale Series: Hasegawa's English Translators

James Curtis Hepburn was born in 1815 in Pennsylvania. In 1836, he received his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He moved to Singapore in 1841 and then to China in 1843 as a medical missionary, gaining an understanding of Chinese. He moved back to the US in 1846 before moving to Japan in 1859 at the age of 44. Here, he would begin to learn Japanese and curate a Japanese-English dictionary that would make Japanese language learning far more accessible to future travelers. His dictionary would also lead him to create a standardized system to romanize Japanese called Hepburn romanization, which is among his greatest contributions alongside translating the Bible into Japanese. He also helped found Meiji Gakuin University through his experience teaching English using the Bible, and contributed his medicinal knowledge to Japan.¹⁸Hamish Ion, “James Curtis Hepburn and the Translation of the New Testament into Japanese: A Case Study of the Impact of China on Missions beyond Its Borders,” Social Sciences and Missions 27, no. 1 (2014): 56–85, ATLAn3798127, https://doi.org/10.1163/18748945-02701004. Hepburn was also acquainted with David Thompson through their collaboration in translating biblical texts, which is likely how he became a translator for Hasegawa.

Hepburn only contributed one work to Hasegawa’s fairy tale series: The Old Man and the Devils (1886). The reason for him to contribute this translation may be due to the mysterious bump and the supernatural way the oni are able to interact with it, sparking his interest in the story through his background as a doctor.¹⁹Ozaki and Hamana, Japanese fairy tales, 231. Additionally, he took an interest in Japanese novels and stories as they were typically written in colloquial Japanese that would benefit Japanese language learners like Hepburn. The Old Man and the Devils was translated from one such novel, the Ujishūi monogatari (宇治拾遺物語), which is likely how he found the story and decided to translate it for Hasegawa.

Hepburn was quite faithful in his translation; regardless, like Thompson, the influence Presbyterianism had on him is evident in the fact that he translates “oni” to “devil.” He was more open to Westernizing his translation than Thompson, however. Whereas Thompson kept the original Japanese of words that had no good English equivalent, Hepburn does not do this, instead translating “sake” to “wine.” Furthermore, Western assumptions also seep into his translation, where he portrays the oni as having an aversion to sunlight. He additionally simplifies the story by excluding dialogue and the social hierarchy of the oni, which may be his attempt at making the story more accessible, or due to the time constraints he was under as a result of him also actively translating the Bible at that time.

Overall, both Thompson and Hepburn demonstrate significant similarities in their method of translation, with their background as missionaries, teachers, and translators reflected in their works.

Unlike Thompson and Hepburn’s translations, which while faithful, lack literary merit, Hasegawa’s later translators excel literarily, though not without detriment to their validity as translations. Basil Hall Chamberlain is perhaps the most notable example of this.

Basil Hall Chamberlain was born in 1850 in England, and educated primarily in France. He had a very high linguistic capability and knew a variety of languages through his frequent travels. He arrived in Japan in 1873 at age 23, where he taught English at Tsukiji Naval Academy from 1874 to 1882. He gained significant proficiency in Japanese in the span of two years and was able to converse and read in the language. He joined the Asiatic Society of Japan in 1874, where he came into contact with researchers of various fields related to Japan and began researching Japan himself. He taught Japanese language to Japanese students at Tokyo Imperial University from 1886 to 1890, whereupon he retired to focus on research and writing.²⁰Sharf, 37. He translated various works from Japanese to English, including the Kojiki, noh songs, and poetry, and also did considerable research on Ainu and Ryukyuan languages. His interest in Japanese culture, his literary and scholarly background, as well as his impressive knowledge of the Japanese language all likely contributed to Hasegawa’s interest in him writing for his series.

Chamberlain contributed four stories to Hasegawa’s fairy tale series: The Fisher-Boy Urashima (1886), The Serpent with Eight Heads (1886), The Silly Jelly-Fish (1886), and My Lord Bag-O’-Rice (1886).

The Fisher-Boy Urashima and The Silly Jelly-Fish are based on the Konjaku monogatarishū (今昔物語集), though it is thought that Chamberlain also referenced Kusazōshi (草双紙).²¹Rumi Ozaki, “長谷川武次郎のちりめん本出版活動の展開：『欧文日本昔噺』シリーズが20冊に達するまで” [Development of Takejiro Hasegawa’s chirimen book publishing activities: Until the ‘European Japanese Old Tales’ series reached 20 volumes], 白百合女子大学児童文化研究センター論文集 [Research Center for Children’s Literature and Culture, Shirayuri University] 25 (March 2022): 34. The Serpent with Eight Heads is translated from the Kojiki. It is thought that My Lord Bag-O’-Rice’s translation comes from several sources, including: the Konjaku monogatarishū, the Otogi-zōshi (御伽草子), and Mukashigatari shichiya no kura (昔語質屋庫).²²Ozaki, “Development of Takejiro Hasegawa’s chirimen book publishing activities,” 35.

While Chamberlain referenced the sources listed above for his contributions, he freely adapted these stories according to his whim, making “translator” a rough approximation of his role. Chamberlain by all means was a fastidious translator, evident in any of the other work he translated. However, his appreciation for European fairy tales and his nostalgia for childhood—a characteristic shared with Hearn and Victorian England—motivated his departure from faithful translation conventions.²³Guth, 273. These characteristics were something he could only express freely in his non-academic work, resulting in his writing for Hasegawa becoming as loosely based on the Japanese texts as they were. Furthermore, translations of fairy tales at this time were rarely faithful, instead altering the original texts to fit into the favored, didactic style for children’s literature. Thus, while open for modern scrutiny, his contributions would not have been out of place for the time period.

Chamberlain mentions in his letters to Hearn of their varying tastes, “yours the romantic and exotic, mine the classical and puristic,”²⁴Basil Hall Chamberlain, Letters from Basil Hall Chamberlain to Lafcadio Hearn (Hokuseido, 1936), 92-93. yet his style in Hasegawa’s fairy tale series is potentially more romanticized and exoticized than Hearn’s. This may be due to the fact that Chamberlain was particularly critical of classical Japanese texts, finding them lacking meaningful thought.²⁵Basil Hall Chamberlain, More Letters from Basil Hall Chamberlain to Lafcadio Hearn and Letters From M. Toyama, Y. Tsubouchi and Others (The Hokuseido press, 1937), 136. For the Kojiki in particular, he found it illogical, difficult for Westerners to understand directly translated, and lackluster in its prose.²⁶Basil Hall Chamberlain, “Kojiki,” (Wikisource, 1882), xiv, lxvii, https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Kojiki_(Chamberlain,_1882). Combined with the fact that he had already previously translated the Kojiki, he would have found no reason to repeat it, instead choosing to reframe it in a traditional Western fairy tale fashion. This intention is clearly demonstrated in his rendition of The Serpent with Eight Heads, where he calls the Shintō deities “fairies.” Chamberlain, critical of Shintō and its standing as a religion and seeking to style the story after the Western fairy tales trope of a hero slaying a dragon, likely saw this as a reasonable translation.²⁷Nanae Otsuka, “神話から英雄譚へ―ちりめん本「日本昔噺」シリーズにおけるチェンバレンとジェイムス夫人による『古事記』からの再話の比較―)” [From Myths to Heroic Tales – A Comparison of Retellings from the Kojiki by Chamberlain and Mrs. James in the Crepe Book Series ‘Japanese Old Tales’], 人文学研究所報 [Bulletin of the Institute for Humanities Research] 80 (September 2023), 77-79. Continuing his adherence to Victorian fairy tale traditions, Chamberlain includes moral lessons not necessarily present in the original version, such as emphasizing disobedience and foolishness brings about bad outcomes, or that brave heroes receive rewards in kind.

His translation style overall is very active and present. He is a conversational narrator, frequently using “I” and “me” to reference himself, asking a lot of questions, and including his own assessments, details, and opinions. Despite his critical, Western scholarly approach to Japan, his tone in the books evoke romanticizations of Japan as a fairy-tale location in itself, potentially playing into the exoticized view of Japan to entice foreign audiences.

All in all, while Chamberlain’s writing lacks the conspicuous Christian religious element of Thompson and Hepburn’s translations, he, too, places emphasis on telling moral stories. His translations follow Hepburn’s example in seeking to appeal to Western audiences through localizing the foreign aspects of the story. However, Chamberlain breaks from both by employing a conversational storytelling style, diverging from the original texts he referenced and putting into question whether the term “translation” applies to his contributions.

Hasegawa’s most relied upon translator was Kate James. Also called Mrs. T. H. James, Kate James was born in Scotland in 1845 to an Episcopal clergyman. She and her husband, a member of the British navy, moved to Japan in 1876 when Kate was 31 years old. In Japan, she would have three children, sparking her interest in Japanese folktales to tell them.²⁸Sharf, 48. She was part of the Asiatic Society of Japan alongside Chamberlain, demonstrating her interest in Japan and Japanese culture.²⁹Ozaki, “From Kobunsha’s Chirimen Book Series,” 15-16. While she was praised by both Hearn and Chamberlain for her writing prowess, she had very little grasp of the Japanese language beyond basic, colloquial Japanese, limiting her contributions to be based in stories she heard orally or from preexisting translations of the tales.³⁰Noboru Koyama, “Grace James (1882-1965) and Mrs T.H. (Kate) James (1845-1928): Writers of Children’s Stories,” in Britain & Japan Biographical Portraits, IX (Amsterdam University Press, Renaissance Books, 2015), 476, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781898823278.043. Regardless of this fact, she still contributed a significant number of stories to Hasegawa’s fairy tale series.

James translated a total of twelve stories for Hasegawa: The Matsuyama Mirror (1886), The Hare of Inaba (1886), The Cub’s Triumph (1887), Princes Fire-Flash and Fire-Fade (1887), The Wooden Bowl (1887), Schippeitaro (1888), The Ogre’s Arm (1889), The Ogres of Oyeyama (1891), The Enchanted Waterfall (1892), Three Reflections (1894), The Wonderful Tea Kettle (1896), and The Wonderful Mallet (1899).

Each of these stories, while having Japanese text equivalents, were most likely compiled from the versions she was told by her Japanese friends, from referencing Kusazōshi (草双紙) picture books, and by referencing already completed English translations such as those by Chamberlain. The influence of preexisting translations of these stories is evident in The Hare of Inaba and Princes Fire-Flash and Fire-Fade, adapted from Chamberlain’s Kojiki, or Records of Ancient Matters (1882) and The Ogres of Oyeyama and The Cub’s Triumph, which pulled heavily on William Elliot Griffis’ translations in Japanese Fairy World: Stories from the Wonder-Lore of Japan (1880).

Due to James using preexisting English translations to make up for her inability to reference the original Japanese works, the term “translator” applies to her the least out of all of Hasegawa’s collaborators. Nevertheless, she did not simply plagiarize to create her stories. Rather, she very intentionally adapted them to be suited for a younger audience by simplifying the tales, adding more or altering details, and ending the stories in a complete, fulfilling, and moral way.

For example, James’ writing in Schippeitaro exemplifies one “translation” model, where she exotifies Japanese culture while at the same time rewords their folktales to fit Victorian fairy tale traditions. In Schippeitaro, James begins with a preface that details the character’s significance in Japanese religious beliefs. However, she then surprisingly starts the story with: “Long long ago, in the days of fairies and giants, ogres and dragons, valiant knights and distressed damsels; in those good old days, a brave young warrior went out into the wide world in search of adventures,” which clearly mimics Victorian fairy tale tradition. This duality exists in all of Hasegawa’s fairy tale books to some extent.

The Hare of Inaba and Princes Fire-Flash and Fire-Fade are the best examples of James’ intentional adaptation of the stories: both of these end with happy, moral lessons, whereas the original stories found in the Kojiki continue on to chronicle the messy lives of the morally ambiguous main characters. Her referencing preexisting English translations also results in her stories lacking consistency in how terms are translated from Japanese to English, as sometimes she reinvents deities or emperors as kings or princes, while at other times keeps the Japanese term—such as calling the Emperor “Mikado”—highlighting the very palpable influence they had on her work. Despite this, her own tone becomes evident in dialogue, which often is heavily reminiscent of the speaking styles of Victorian women.

James’ rendition of the stories are more dramatic and personable, providing each of the characters with emotions and values not found in Japanese versions.³¹Otsuka, 80. Indeed, Guth explains, “Kate James’s retellings allowed her to explore creatively themes that were applicable to her own child-rearing experiences in Japan, often projecting a Victorian sentimentalism not present in the original versions.”³²Guth, 273. This manifested in her altering the original Japanese versions to best fit her image of a children’s tale—exhibited in her depictions of good daughters/people or endings featuring a happily married couple—which exemplify her perceptions of ideal morals, conduct, and lessons for children.

James utilized a strong storytelling tone throughout her stories to engage and appeal to children, and while she would not reference herself directly like Chamberlain did, she would include the listener in her retellings through the second person pronoun “you.” While not a professional writer or skilled in Japanese, her works were praised by both Chamberlain and Hearn,³³Lafcadio Hearn, The Japanese Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, with Boston Public Library (Boston, New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1910), 277, http://archive.org/details/japaneseletterso00hear_0. demonstrating her talent for writing compelling children’s stories that maintained their distinctiveness despite being based on other English translations.

Overall, James’ contributions may be the most well suited to be called fairy tales, considering their intentional writing style geared towards children, the moral lessons of the stories, and their happy endings. Furthermore, partly due to her inability to access the original Japanese texts, her writing is very simple and comprehensible, lacking the rigidity found in Thompson and Hepburn’s translations and making ideal children’s stories.

Last of Hasegawa’s translators is Lafcadio Hearn. Hearn was born in 1850 in Greece. He was raised and educated in England and later attended a French Catholic college. While he gave up Catholicism, his knowledge of French would help him in 1869 when, at the age of 19, he immigrated to the US and became a writer for a newspaper about French literary translation. He moved to Japan in 1890 at the age of 40 with a job with Harper’s Magazine. He eventually quit to move into education in Matsue where he met his wife, Koizumi Setsu (小泉セツ, 1868-1932). In 1896, he moved to Tokyo—appointed to teach English literature at Tokyo Imperial University—as well as officially married Koizumi, becoming a naturalized Japanese citizen and adopting her name to become Koizumi Yakumo (小泉八雲).

Hearn was deeply curious about Japanese culture and would actively seek out opportunities to learn more about it. He thus was one of the most sympathetic Westerners in Japan, readily accepting Japanese culture and superstitious beliefs and taking an interest in mythology and folktales. Christianity’s lack of influence on his perspective enabled him to embrace Japan’s culture as much as he did,³⁴Sukehiro Hirakawa, Lafcadio Hearn in International Perspectives (BRILL, 2007), 15. and he would write prolifically about it in both academic and creative works for Western audiences.³⁵Rumi Ozaki, and Nana Hamana, Japanese Fairy World by Lafcadio Hearn: wood-block-illustrated crepe-paper books of the Meiji and Taisho periods (Tokyo Bijutsu, 2025), 218. He published many works, including Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan (1894) and Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (1904). Despite his curiosity and love of Japan, however, he never obtained full proficiency of Japanese.

Hearn wrote a total of five stories for Hasegawa: The Boy Who Drew Cats (1898), The Old Woman Who Lost Her Dumpling (1903), Chin Chin Kobakama (1904), The Goblin Spider (1899), and The Fountain of Youth (1922).

His contributions formed the second of Hasegawa’s fairy tale series. While the exact origin of these stories is unknown, it is thought that they are Hearn’s rendition of oral stories he collected through his time traveling in Japan, or were told to him by his wife as she did for his Kwaidan book.³⁶Ann King Herring, “Early Translations of Japanese Fairy-Tales and Children’s Literature,” Phaedrus 13 (1988), 98. Due to this ambiguity of origin, his stories’ authenticity as Japanese folktales was questioned by Hasegawa and resulted in delays in their publishing:³⁷Sharf, 45. Hearn himself acknowledges that he discovered that The Fountain of Youth was not of Japanese origin, despite the fact that the person who told him the story never heard the tale in a language other than Japanese.³⁸Lafcadio Hearn, Some New Letters and Writings of Lafcadio Hearn, with Sanki Ichikawa (Kenkyusha, 1925), 313.

Hearn was perhaps the most experienced writer out of all of Hasegawa’s translators. He had a clear, straightforward writing style that highlighted his intended audience: Westerners and their children. This led his contributions to step away from the original intention of these books to be both a tool for English language learning and for export, demonstrated by the prefaces of Chin Chin Kobakama and The Goblin Spider offering informative descriptions of Japanese culture and superstitions. Hearn’s storytelling style is slightly reminiscent of Chamberlain, as occasionally, he does insert himself into the story as the narrator. However, he does this sparingly, and instead focuses on developing a fully fleshed out, comprehensible plot. He frequently makes use of repetition, found in almost all of the stories, and includes a message to be gleaned from each tale, though not necessarily moral in nature.

He simplifies the supernatural creatures of Japan into fairies and goblins, though he does use “oni” instead of “ogre” and keeps the original name of the Buddhist statues found in The Old Woman Who Lost Her Dumpling. This shows how he was overall more accepting of the supernatural and superstitious beliefs of Japan, and he made sure to include some elements of it in each story.

Rather than being just a translator or a recorder of the stories he collected, he holds a position as a storyteller in his own right. He was very intentional in designing each of the stories to be enjoyable to children while showcasing aspects of Japan that would be difficult to experience to the average traveler. In fact, Hearn was so talented at maintaining and nurturing a Japanese spirit in his works that the Japanese translation of his ghost story anthology, Kwaidan, is highly appraised by the Japanese as a collection of native folktales despite having an intended Western audience.³⁹Hirakawa, 12-14. So while his works may not be actual translations, he was a very gifted storyteller, even gaining appreciation by native Japanese for his works.

Overall, while the Japan depicted in Hearn’s stories is not the same as the one found in traditional Japanese folktales, he still manages to earn the respect of Japanese readers. He accomplishes this through expressing his own fascination with Japan and his desire to convey its charm to Western audiences back home, distinguishing him from Hasegawa’s other translators through his overwhelming acceptance of Japanese culture.