Pictures from Japan
Two of our colleagues just came back from a grand tour of Japan in the company of authors Linn Strømsborg and Monica Isakstuen – who both take part in our New Voices-program this autumn – and translator Anne Lande Peters, who is NORLA’s Translator of the Month in November.
They have lots of great memories of exciting events and many inspiring meetings. See the pictures here!
OSAKA
We started out meeting 60 students of Scandinavian languages at the university in Osaka (main picture). The seminar was arranged in close cooperation with Chie Asada, lecturer of Norwegian at the university and also herself a translator.
The main theme was Norwegian concepts of colour. And of course presentations about Norwegian literature.
The Norwegian delegation in Osaka. From the left Oliver Møystad, Linn Strømsborg, Monica Isakstuen and Dina Roll-Hansen. Photo: Anne Lande Peters.
Linn Strømsborg and fans at the university in Osaka.
Then followed a seminar for 15 translators of Norwegian literature into Japanese, who were joining us from all over Japan. The seminar was lead by Anne Lande Peters.
Deep concentration at the translators’ seminar in Osaka. The texts to be translated were selected scenes from Monica Isakstuen’s play “Se på meg når jeg snakker til deg” (Look at me when I am talking to you).
KYOTO
Moving on to Kyoto, we were happy to take part in the Norway Seminar at the Kyoto Prefectual University. Norway seminar is held on a regular basis at KPU. On this occation, the focus was especially on Norwegian family policy, with Ibsen’s play Little Eyolf, and the books of Monica Isakstuen and Linn Strømsborg as starting points.
Anne Lande Peters gives a lecture on Ibsen to an attentive audience.
Monica Isakstuen talks about her authorship and family structures in Scandinavia.
Linn Strømsborg tells about her novel Furuset, while Gøran Vaage, originally from Bergen, interprets into Japanese.
Professor Tosihiro Kamikake, Kyoto Prefectual University. Photo: Anne Lande Peters.
The two eldest in the audience were 84 and 94 years old. From left Yamazaki Junko, in the middle Teroyu Usui – the first female highschool headmaster in Osaka – and to the right Oliver. Photo: Ingvill Kjærstein.
TOKYO
In cooperation with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo, NORLA held a literary seminar attended by more than 20 Japanese editors and publishers, and also translators.
An attentive group of publishers listened to the presentations by the authors and translators.
As part of the seminar program, several Japanese translators also presented books from Norway – some that have already found their way into the Japanese market, and other titles that the translators strongly recommend should be translated.
In good company 1: Linn Strømsborg and Monica Isakstuen in front of a picture by Edvard Munch. Photo: Royal Norwegian Embassy in Tokyo.
In good company 2: Monica Isakstuen, Dina Roll-Hansen, Chie Asada – lecturer of Norwegian at the university in Osaka and also translator, Linn Strømsborg and Oliver Møystad.
Following the seminar at the embassy, we visited the New National Theatre Tokyo.
Anne Lande Peters had previously held an Ibsen workshop with the theatre students. During our visit the students rehearsed scenes from Monica Isakstuen’s play “Se på meg når jeg snakker til deg” (Look at me when I am talking to you) – with contributions from both the author and Anne Lande Peters.
The Japanese translations of the scenes were the results of our translation seminar in Osaka.
We would like to thank all participants at the events and our collaborating partners for making our tour of Japan highly inspiring!
Read more
About Monica Isakstuen, at the Cappelen Damm Agency’s website.
About Linn Strømsborg, at the Oslo Literary Agency’s website.
About Anne Lande Peters, NORLA’s Translator of the Month.
About our program.
See the covers of Norwegian books recently published in Japanese through NORLA’s translation subsidies on our Flickr-profile.
(Photo: Oliver Møystad, when not otherwise mentioned).
