Results of the 6th JLPP International Translation Competition
Hosted by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the JLPP International Translation Competition endeavors to discover and uplift promising translators of Japanese literature. Results of the 6th International Translation Competition, which opened for submissions in June 2021, have now been determined.
Below is a list of the winners for the English and Spanish categories, along with their winning submissions and comments from the judges. The names of those who passed the first round of judging are also listed, as honorable mentions.
(English)
Submitted: 204
Screened: 192
Shortlist: 26
*12 redundant or incomplete applications were excluded from the screening process.
Parentheses indicate the winner’s nationality.
Grand Prize: Grant Lloyd ( U.S.A.)
Second Prizes: Adam Sutherland (U.K.),Adam Kuplowsky (Canada)
Winning Translations:
Grant Lloyd
“To The Shore”
“The Bow”
Adam Sutherland
“To the Water’s Edge”
“A Bow Among Family”
Adam Kuplowsky
“By the Shore”
“On Bowing”
Critiques by the Judges
Inoue Ken Michael Emmerich
Stephen Snyder Janine Beichman
Individual Comments by Janine Beichman
Grant Lloyd
Adam Sutherland
Adam Kuplowsky
Shortlist (in order of submission)
Gwen Clayton Dawn Springer Rychelle Leigh Brittain
Hannah Dahlberg-Dodd Katya Green Justin Kaidi Yumiko Tananone
Seamus Gildner Sid Chapple Dellby Kendra Sheehan Alexis James Brown
Ian Fagen Robin Griffin Hiro Yamatama Shana Francelle Straub
Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda Judith McCann Komatsu Daniel Aultman Hibiki Mizuno
Kamil Spychalski Lara Anne Yamamoto Kathryn Rebecca Marr
Blake Murcia Baguley
(Spanish)
Submitted: 80
Screened: 72
Shortlist: 11
*8 redundant or incomplete application was excluded from the screening process.
Winners
Grand Prize: Eduardo López Herrero (Argentina)
Second Prizes: Sano Yuki (Japan), Montserrat Sabaté Vizcarra (Spain)
Winning Translations
Eduardo López Herrero
“Hasta donde llegan las olas”
“Las reverencias”
Sano Yuki
“Hasta la orilla”
“Reverencias”
Montserrat Sabaté Vizcarra
“Hasta la playa”
“Reverencias”
Critiques by the Judges
Alfredo López-Pasarín Basabe Noya Fumiaki Isami Romero
Saitou Ayako Yanagihara Takaatsu
Shortlist (in order of submission)
David Gómez Espinosa Gen Leonardo Ota Otani Miriam Sanae Morikawa
Miguel Kou Silva Rogelio Vargas Rodriguez Kentaro Fujii Manuel Azuaje-Alam
Ayako Kishi
Applications for this Competition has been ended.
To those applying to the 6th JLPP International Translation Competition
Submissions are accepted from Tuesday, June 1st, until midnight on Saturday, July 31st, 2021 (JST).
Applicants must translate two source texts: one from the Fiction category and one from the Criticism and Essay category. For more details, please consult the application instructions section on this website.
6th JLPP Translator Development Program
(JLPP International Translation Competition)
We are happy to announce the details of the 6th JLPP International Translation Competition. The winners of previous JLPP Translation Competitions are now actively working as literary translators all over the world. Aspiring translators of contemporary Japanese literature are most welcome to apply.
- Purpose
The JLPP International Translation Competition aims to foster emerging translators of Japanese and promote Japanese literature around the world by encouraging the translation of superb literary works from Japan.
- Eligibility
There are no nationality or age-related eligibility criteria. However, because the purpose of the competition is to foster emerging translators, those who have published book-length literary translations (including co-translations) are not eligible, although translations published in magazines and/or anthologies are permissible.
- Target Languages
English and Spanish
- Source Texts
Applicants must translate two source texts: one from the Fiction category and one from the Criticism and Essay category.(1) Fiction Category
“Namiuchigiwa made” by Maki Kashimada(2) Criticism and Essay Category
“Ojigi”by Kuniko MukōdaSource texts may be downloaded via the links below, or can be mailed in print upon request.- Application Period and Procedure
(1) Application Period
Tuesday, June 1st ~ Saturday, July 31st, 2021(Japan time)(2) Application Procedure
Apply by transmission via the website as instructed below.
Click the banner “6th JLPP International Translation Competition” on the top page of JLPP website. Follow the instructions appearing under the banner “Application Page” for further details on application procedures and notes.
The Application Page will be posted on this website on June 1st, 2021.
Applications submitted via email will be disqualified.
Note:
a) Applications submitted via methods other than those described above in (1) and (2) will not be accepted.
b) Translation manuscripts must be formatted on A4 or letter-size paper, in portrait orientation, written horizontally, at 32 lines per page, using 12 point Times New Roman font, with left and right margins of at least 1.5 cm, specifying the “page number of total pages” on each page. Files must be formatted according to the instructions outlined above and sent as PDFs. Applicants will be responsible for any conversion errors which transpire in the creation of the PDFs.
c) The name of the translator must not appear anywhere on the submitted translations.
d) Applications failing to comply with the above requirements will be disqualified, barring extenuating circumstances.
- Judging Process
(1) Judging will comprise a preliminary selection process, followed by a meeting of the judging committee members, who will examine the translations which passed the preliminary selection process and select the prize winners.
(2) The Grand Prize will be awarded, in principle, to one translator for each target language whose translation is considered to be of exceptionally high quality.
(3)Second Prizes will be awarded to no more than two translators for each target language whose translations are considered to be of very high quality.
(4) Honorable Mentions will be awarded, at the discretion of the judging committee, to translators whose efforts show great promise, but are not considered to qualify for the Grand Prize or a Second Prize. The number of Honorable Mentions will not exceed the total the Grand Prize and the Second Prizes.
(5) Those who have received the Grand Prize in the past JLPP International Translation Competitions are not eligible for any prize.- Announcement of Prize Winners
(1) The announcement of the Grand Prize and Second Prize winners will be posted on this website at the end of January 2022, prior to which the prize winners will be contacted individually. Only prize winners will be contacted about the results of their applications.
(2) Prize winners will be awarded a certificate and trophy, as well as a monetary prize of 1,000,000 yen for Grand Prize winners and 250,000 yen for Second Prize winners for each language pair.
(3) Bios of the prize winners as well as observations on their translations will be posted on this website.
(4) Winners will be invited to JLPP translator-development events, such as a translation workshop.- Judging Committee (in alphabetical order)
[English]
Janine Beichman (Scholar of Japanese Literature, Professor Emeritus at Daito Bunka University)
Michael Emmerich (Scholar of Japanese Literature, Professor at University of California, Los Angeles)
Ken Inoue (Scholar of Comparative Literature, Professor Emeritus at The University of Tokyo)
Stephen Snyder (Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of Language School, Professor of Japanese Studies at Middlebury College)
[Spanish]
Alfredo López-Pasarín Basabe (Scholar of Japanese Literature, Professor at Waseda University)
Fumiaki Noya (Scholar of Latin American Literature, Professor Emeritus at The University of Tokyo)
Isami Romero (Translator of Japanese Literature, Senior Assistant Professor at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine)
Ayako Saitou (Scholar of Spanish and Latin American Literature, Professor at The University of Tokyo)
Takaatsu Yanagihara (Scholar of Spanish Literature, Professor at The University of Tokyo) - Application Period and Procedure