Translational Engagements with Asian Languages in Premodern Japan

Translational Engagements with Asian Languages in Premodern Japan explores a range of Japanese practices used to mediate written and oral encounters with neighbouring cultures from earliest recorded times until the late nineteenth century. The primary focus is on kanbun kundoku, the mainstream approach to Chinese texts for about a thousand years. The book includes a theoretical examination of the status of this practice in relation to conventional translation. It engages critically with insights from Japanese Studies, Translation Studies and related research fields to present the first in-depth analysis of these topics in English or Japanese.

Judy Wakabayashi is Professor Emerita at Kent State University, author of Japanese-English Translation: An Advanced Guide and co-editor of five books on translating/interpreting in Asia. Her most recent publication is the co-edited A Cultural History of Translation: Volume 6 (2025).