the world of miura ayako

the bible in the dialect of tohoku earthquake surivors

2011-12-30T17:17:00.000-08:00

"Tsunami Bibles" help Japan to understand the tragedy 3 thousand copies of the Bible translated in the local dialect which survived the tidal wave that enveloped the country on March 11,are back on sale. They give an answer to those who suffered and will help the publishing house back on its feet.

Photo shows stacks of the Kesen-dialect Bibles that survived the tsunami. When the publisher was ready to sell the slightly damaged books at a discount, Masahiro Kudo, deputy director of the Miura Ayako Literature Museum Foundation advised him not to hesitate selling them at full price, saying "They are very precious copies. They demonstrate the love of God for the survivors." Sales will help the publisher rebuild his devastated business.

Click to read full article on AsiaNews.it (English, 英語) or here on asahi.com (Japanese, 日本語）
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free offer for miura fans

2011-10-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

KAIREI (Asahi Shimbun Press, 1981) is one of Miura Ayako's greatest historical works. It was once made into a bilingual feature-length film and, in recent years, has been performed in several locations throughout the world as a stage play. (see details in this post)

In 1993, my English translation of Kairei was published by Dawn Press under the title Hidden Ranges. It has long since been out-of-print. With English translations of Miura's works so rare and difficult to come by, I've decided to offer an updated and slightly abridged version of my original translation at no cost to readers of this blog and members of the Miura Ayako Book Club on Facebook.

If you are interested in reading Hidden Ranges, please become a follower or subscriber to this blog and/or a member of the Miura Ayako Book Club on Facebook. Then email your request to the email address on my blog profile (click my photo in the left side bar of this page). I will send you an email attachment of the text as a PDF file so that you can either print it out yourself or read it on a digital reading device such as Kindle. I will expect you to honor my copyright and you will be asked to do your utter best to prevent the manuscript from being misused.

There are 28 chapters and various extras such as Table of Contents, Description of Characters, etc, which add up to just under 400 pages, so I haven't figured out yet whether to send them in parts or as a whole. If you have a preference or advice, please let me know.

Please feel free to ask me questions about this offer!
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the tongue-cut sparrow's christmas

2011-10-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

Among Miura's many, many works, there is one (and only one) play script. It was written to be performed at Christmas to an audience of children. In January of 2010, I wrote a post titled The Tongue-Cut Sparrow, Revisited in which I introduced this play in detail. To make sense of this update, please read that post now, if you haven't yet done so.

About twenty years ago, when we lived in Osaka, I translated the story into English and added illustrations so that my husband could use it in English classes and Christmas events at the college where he was teaching. More recently, I converted my translation back into simple Japanese, which I combined with my illustrations to turn it into a kamishibai (story board) for reading aloud to the children at our church here in Sapporo.

I have just learned that Miura's play was published as a picture book in 2008! Click here to see the listing on Amazon Japan and here to see the listing on Amazon US. It appears to be a bilingual version with both English and Japanese text. The English title is Christmas at the Sparrow's Inn and the name of the translator is Arden Lewis. I am not familiar with the translator, and I haven't yet seen the actual book, but if you have, please post a comment below. If you could track down a copy, I'm sure it would make the most awesome Christmas gift for the children in your life, especially if they understand Japanese or English or both.
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j.philip gabriel visits hokkaido

2011-07-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

J. Philip Gabriel, professor of Japanese literature and head of the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona, has translated the works of such noted Japanese writers as Murakami Haruki and Oe Kenzaburo. Phil first came to my attention several years ago, when I came across his book Spirit Matters: The Transcendent in Modern Japanese Literature. He spends a good part of the book discussing the works of Miura Ayako (specifically Hyoten and Shiokari Pass) in a way that convinced me I had found that rare Western academic who "got" what Miura was all about and actually valued it.

Through our sporadic email correspondence, I learned that Phil was interested in writing about Miura Ayako's novel Juko, the last novel she wrote before her death in 1999. Imagine how excited I was when he emailed me earlier this year to say he would be making his first trip to Hokkaido in June! Unfortunately, I was unable to accompany Phil and his wife Junko to Asahikawa, Miura's homeground. But they went to the trouble of visiting me at my home in Sapporo, where we had a stimulating discussion on how to get more exposure for Miura's works in the West.

In Asahikawa, Phil visited the Miura Ayako Literature Museum where he had the good fortune to run into Ayako's husband Mitsuyo. He told me the trip hardened his resolve to write about Juko, which was very good to hear. Having a translator and scholar of his caliber committed to writing about Miura's works is a huge encouragement to me. I'm hoping that between the two of us, and with the support of our various networks, we will have more success in introducing Miura lit to English readers than we might have had on own own.
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for miura fans in india!

2011-04-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

Yoshimitsu Hasegawa, the head of the Miura Ayako Dokushokai (Miura Ayako Readers Association) will be in India on May 7 to give a talk about Miura Ayako's works and what she had to say on the subject of what it means to live.

Location: Delhi Bible Church, V20 Green Park Extn.
Time: May 7 (Saturday), 2011 15:00~17:00

Contact Ms. Yoshida by May 4 (Wednesday) for further information:
email her at grace011205@yahoo.co.jp
or telephone her at 97-1177-7984
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translators who blazed the trail (2)

2010-09-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

In 1991, OMF Books published an English translation of Yuki no Arubamu under the title A Heart of Winter. The translators were Mark Caprio and Clyde Moneyhun. They did a great job of it-- the translation makes for smooth reading. It is a slim, pocket-sized book, easy to give as a gift or carry around and read in spare moments. The copy on the back cover says: "This novel captures the depth of hurt and need for healing and wholeness... [it] illustrates, without maddening pat answers, that the bitter pain of abandonment, ridicule, betrayal and revenge need not be the final experience... Above all, this is a story of hope!"

Two months ago, one of my several attempts to contact the translators by email finally reached Mark Caprio, and I was able to ask him about his experience translating this book. This is part of what he shared with me:

We started out just looking for something to translate. Clyde and I had met at an Aikido dojo in Nagoya. By coincidence we had both studied at the University of Arizona in Tucson a few years prior to our meeting. I was an avid reader of Japanese literature at the time, making my way through Kawabata, Endo, Sono Ayako, and others.

Clyde was rather new to Japan, arriving after having completed studies in creative writing. I stumbled on Miura Ayako through a Brother George Pope. We were taught at Nanzan University and often talked over lunch about different things. I believe he mentioned Miura to me. Since he could not read Japanese I said that I would see if I could translate one of her books. Both Clyde and I were after the experience of completing a translation anyway. I remember that it was Hyoten that I first read. The story moved me to the extent of wanting to translate it. I wrote Miura asking for permission and she answered by saying that it was already being translated. Flattered that she had even answered my letter, I decided to press my luck and ask her to suggest a book to translate. She recommended her latest book, Yuki no Arubamu [album of snow]. I read it and talked with Clyde about it. We decided to translate it.

Our division of labor broke down as follows: I put her words into English, Clyde molded my crude English into prose, and I checked to ensure that his writing honored Miura's original Japanese. We had been given us a deadline--which I believe we just missed--and a contact in Tokyo who would check our work. She also had a second person, a native English speaker, in Sapporo read our manuscript. After passing the above checks we had to find a publisher. We tried Tuttle [but they turned it down] . Miura's Tokyo agent then recommended we try OMF based in Singapore [who agreed to publish it].

Unfortunately, A Heart of Winter is out of print. But like other out-of-print English translations of Miura's works, it can sometimes be found for sale on online used-book sites, so I encourage you to look for it if you don't already have a copy.

translators who blazed the trail (1)

2010-09-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

The first book by Miura Ayako that I ever read in English translation was The Wind is Howling (InterVarsity Press, 1977), an abridged translation of Michi ariki, the first in Miura's autobiographical trilogy that includes Michi ariki, Kono tsuchi no utsuwa o mo, and Hikari aru uchi ni.

I had been reading Miura's works in the original Japanese for some time by then, and was nurturing my own dream of becoming a professional translator. Totally impressed by the smooth and authentic readability of The Wind is Howling, I immediately became curious about the translator, Valerie Griffiths. But it wasn't until recently (over thirty years later!) that I made an effort to contact her, and even in the age of the internet, this wasn't easy. Finally, one of my email queries reached her, and I was honored to receive a reply from Valerie herself! What a thrill this was!

I'd like to share a little of what Valerie told me about how she came to translate Michi ariki:

My husband and I served in Japan with OMF from 1958-1967 when OMF asked us to move to our international HQ in Singapore. [...] While in Singapore we began to hear about Mrs. Miura and when I started a small lending library of Japanese books I included hers. I had never achieved the 1800 kanji for reading. When a Japanese child was dying I lent some books to his parents who were spending all their time at the hospital. His father got engrossed in Michi ariki and began relaying the story to me. I felt it was much more effective to translate a book like that than to write English books about Japan so I started translating in my spare time.

Valerie went on to say how the limitations of her Japanese reading ability made the task time-consuming and arduous. But with the help of a friend who offered to write reading clues next to the harder kanji, she managed to complete the translation. That was the only Miura book she ever translated, and she says she could never do it again. But I --along with many other Miura fans-- will always be thankful that she did this wonderful work.

The Wind is Howling is out-of-print, but can sometimes be found for sale through online used book shops. Keep searching, and you may uncover this treasure yet.
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short story bitou/taillights posted

2010-07-05T15:40:00.001-07:00

Bitou (Taillights) was written in the 70s, at the peak of Japan’s economic boom years when it was normal for Japanese “corporate warriors” to fully commit their time and energy to their workplace, and men spent little, if any, time with their wives and children. This story gives us a glimpse into the absence of purpose and broken relationships that awaited one such man in his retirement years. Even without particular knowledge of the cultural and economic background of the story, the situation should be familiar enough to 21st century Western readers. Bitou is included in the short story collection titled Dokumugi no toki (Season of the tares) published by Kodansha in 1983.

Last fall, I posted a call for Miura fans who would be willing to take time from their busy schedules to read my translation of this short story and give me feedback on several points. I am deeply indebted to the generous souls (you know who you are) who shared their time and thoughts with me. My translation of Bitou has undergone many transformations, and could certainly use even more polishing, but I'm eager to share it with you all, and have decided to go ahead and post it in its entirety on the Miura Ayako home page. I appreciate any feedback via the comment box below, although I may not be able to post them all. If you have thoughts about the story that you do not want me to post, please say so, and I will keep it between the two of us.
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upcoming miura book club events

2010-06-08T04:46:00.000-07:00

I would like to introduce several Miura Ayako Book Club events taking place around the world this summer.

HONOLULU, HAWAII
A lecture on the topic of Miura Ayako's historical novel Kairei, (Hidden Ranges) will take place from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon on July 6 (Tues) at the following location:

Makiki Christian Church
829 Pensacola Ave
Honolulu, Hawai'i

http://www.makikichristianchurch.org/　 (English)
http://www.makikichurch.org/z000.html　 (Japanese)

SEOUL, KOREA

The Miura Ayako Book Club member group that had its first meeting on March 19, will be meeting for the second time on June 16, Wednesday. If you would like details, please let me know.

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

A Miura Ayako Book Club event is scheduled for July 10 (Saturday) to 12 (Monday) with a series of lectures to be presented at three different locations. Mr. Yoshimitsu Hasegawa, founder and representative of the Miura Ayako Book Club, will be the speaker on all three occasions.

(1) Date & Time: July 10 (Saturday) 14:00~16:00

Location: Auckland Baptist Tabernacle Church
(429 Queen Street, Auckland 1010 tel: 09-377-4065) http://www.tabernacle.org.nz

Topic: Michi Ariki (Miura Ayako's autobiography, translated into English as The Wind is Howling)

(2) Date & Time: July 11 (Sunday) 14:00 ~ 15:30

Location: Auckland Japanese Christian Church
(3-5 Ngaire Ave. Epsom Auckland tel: 09-523-3346) http://ajcc.org.nz/

Program: A viewing of the DVD "Footprints of Miura Ayako" and lecture

(3) Date & Time: July 12 (Monday) 13:00~15:00

Location: Mairangi Bay Community Church　　　　　　
(49 Maxwelton Drive, Mairangi Bay, North Shore, Auckland tel:09-476-0919)
www.mairangichurch.org.nz

Topic: Michi Ariki (Miura Ayako's autobiography, translated into English as The Wind is Howling)

PERTH, AUSTRALIA
A Miura Book Club event is planned for August. I will post details as soon as I can.
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silvery trace

2010-05-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

Most of the posts on this blog have to do with Miura's works of fiction, but I hardly need tell you that she has written a huge number of wonderful and influential works of non-fiction as well. Silvery Trace is the English translation of Gin-iro no Ashiato, a dialogue between Miura Ayako and Hoshino Tomihiro, a former gymnastics teacher who became paralyzed from the neck down after a serious accident in the school gymnasium. During his long hospitalization, he learned to write and draw with an ink brush he held in his mouth.

"It was when I was bed-ridden on my back in the hospital that I read [Miura's] novel Shiokari Pass," Hoshino writes in the postscript to Silvery Trace. "The book shocked me with its amazing insight into life, though at that time I was quite ignorant of its author; [...] I was, at that time, like a straying sheep walking along a lonely path in the heart of darkness without knowing where to go. When I met Ms. Miura through her books, I felt as if I had encountered a person walking before me with glorious light and joy..." Soon after, Hoshino encountered the Bible and was baptized as a Christian.

Miura and Hoshino are now sister and brother in the faith. They share a love of and skill in poetry. They share a history of despair and suffering. But most of all they share the attitude expressed in Psalm 119:71-- It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.

Hoshino's artwork, which is in the etegami style, brings the good news of hope in Christ to the afflicted all over Japan and in many other countries. It has been published as books, as postcards, and as calendars. Both the original Japanese version and the English translation of Silvery Trace were published by Inochi no kotoba-sha, but appear to be out of print at this time. Used copies can be found on the web. It is worth adding to your collection of Miura literature.

Note: If you have never heard of the art of etegami and are interested in learning about it, check out my etegami blog at http://etegamibydosankodebbie.blogspot.com.
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introducing iwa ni tatsu- (a carpenter's life)

2010-03-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

Based on the real life story of the remarkable man who built the author’s house, this novel is unusual among Miura’s works for several reasons. It is told in the “voice” of the carpenter, capturing the full flavor of an early Showa-era working-class man of limited education and rich in life experiences. The book begins with Suzumoto Shinkichi’s earliest memories of growing up in wretched poverty. His father dies an accidental death before he is born, and his mother works herself ragged to feed her children and the lazy, incompetent man she eventually gets remarried to. The book does not have a tight plot that holds the reader in suspense, like a typical Miura novel. Rather, each chapter follows Shinkichi through a stage of his life, a childhood cut short by the need for another wage earner, his early training as a carpenter, marriage, being drafted to serve in Japan’s war with China, and finally his return from the war and his struggle to regain his life and living. In spite of some dark themes such as poverty, suffering, and doubts about war, the novel is liberally peppered with humorous incidents, another factor that makes this novel stand out among Miura’s works.

The book is not yet available in English translation.
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how did you first learn of miura ayako?

2010-02-25T15:33:00.000-08:00

I am notorious for having a poor memory for books and films, but I remember my first Miura Ayako novel as though it were yesterday. I was nineteen, and after two years at an American university, I was back in Japan for summer vacation, visiting my family home. But I had lost contact with most of my childhood friends (this was before Facebook, and even before email!), and I was bored.

I rummaged through my father's bookshelf and was drawn to a certain book by its title: Hitsujigaoka (literally: sheep hill). The author was Miura Ayako. Hitsujigaoka is the name of the area in east Sapporo very near to where I'd attended international school. I began reading, and became so caught up in the book that I could hardly eat or sleep for the three days it took me to finish it. Like all Miura novels, it has a stunning ending. That was the moment I decided to pursue training as a professional translator. Back at college, I threw myself into my studies and began corresponding with Ayako. And for the past 33 years, in the breaks between the translating I do for a living, I have continued to translate and promote this author's works.

How did you first learn of Miura Ayako? Which of her novels impressed you, and why? Please share your story with me.
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miura ayako event in jakarta

2010-01-24T19:56:00.000-08:00

According to the Miura Ayako Dokushokai (Miura Ayako Book Society) website, and verified by Pastor Matsumoto of the Jakarta Japanese Christian Fellowship, Mr. Hasegawa, the founder and representative of the association, will be in Jakarta to lead a Miura Ayako-related program over the weekend of February 13 and 14 (Sat & Sun), 2010.

Location: Jakarta Japanese Christian Fellowship, Pastor Matsumoto's residence (Jl. Bona Indah A-1, No.31, Lebak Bulus, Cilandak, Jakarta Selatan 12440、62-21-750-8435）

Program schedule:
February 13 (Sat) 10:00 ~ 12:00 Viewing of a DVD: Miura Ayako no Ashi-ato (footprints of Miura Ayako); 13:00 ~15:00 discussion of Miura's autobiography Michi Ariki (known in English as The Wind is Howling)

February 14 (Sun) 13:00 ~15:00 Lecture on the historical novel Kairei (known in English as Hidden Ranges). Mr. Hasegawa will also be speaking at the Bilingual Worship Service in the morning preceding the lecture.

There is no fee for any part of the program. If you plan to be in or near Jakarta at this time, please call the number above to verify date and location of the various events.

If you know of other details, or have new information, please leave a comment below. Thank you!

the tongue-cut sparrow, revisited

2010-01-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

In 1981, Miura was asked to write a script for a play which would explain the gospel message in a way that even young children could understand. It was to be performed at the Asahikawa Shimin Kurisumasu (Asahikawa city's annual Christmas event) later that same year. It was the first, and as far as I know only, play that Miura ever wrote. She based the plot on a folktale that every Japanese child knows by heart: Shitakiri-Suzume (The Tongue-Cut Sparrow). The illustrations posted here are ones that I drew to accompany Miura's version of the folktale. I have used them kamishibai (story-board)-style at many Christmas events over the years.

Perhaps you are familiar with the original tale. It involves a kindly old man, his bad-tempered wife, and a sparrow. The old man nurses an injured sparrow back to health, but the sparrow infuriates the old woman by nibbling at the flour paste she has prepared for starching the laundry. She decides to punish the sparrow by cutting off its tongue with a pair of scissors. When the old man learns of this, he is mortified, and runs to the forest to look for the sparrow so that he can apologize.

The sparrow community responds to the old man's love and concern with a banquet. At the end, he is given a choice between two gifts, one packed in a large wicker case, and the other in a small one. Without knowing what is inside, he chooses the small case, explaining that he is old and the large one would be too difficult for him to carry home. After he reaches his house and tells his wife all that has happened, they open the wicker case and are astounded to find it filled with gold, silver, and other valuables.

The greedy old woman schemes to visit the sparrow's home for an insincere condolence call so she can bring back the large case for herself. Half-way home, she opens the wicker case, and is scared witless by the ghoulish creatures that burst out from it. Moral of the story: Greed is bad.

Miura's script gives the familiar story an interesting twist and a bit of humor. Her version begins where the old man has finally tracked down where the sparrow lives. It happens that a Christmas party is in progress at the sparrow community home. The old man has never heard of Christmas before, so the sparrow explains that it is a celebration of the birth of a man named Jesus. The sparrows invite the old man to join the party and they have a wonderful time.

As the old man prepares to return to his home, the sparrows tell him that Santa has a gift for him. The old man chooses the smaller of the gifts offered. When he finally reaches home and opens the package, he finds a book inside. The book's title is "Bible." The old woman is incensed. "A book like this isn't even useful as toilet paper!" she says. So she makes a visit to the sparrow's home to demand the larger of the gifts. And, of course, she opens the package before she is half-way home. Out comes goblins and other ghoulish creatures. Her legs fail her and she falls to the ground calling for help.

Then Jesus appears. The old woman says, "Whoever you are, please save me from these goblins!" and Jesus replies, "Look carefully. Those aren't goblins you see. That is the condition of your own heart." The old woman snorts, " What kind of joke is that?" Then Jesus explains each of the ugly creatures, saying, "This is your greedy heart. And this is your meanness. And that one over there is your stinginess."

The woman denies it for a while, but the more she thinks about it, the more she realizes that Jesus is right. She confesses that she is full of sin. Jesus explains to her that all people are sinners. All people, young and old (the actor points at the audience) care only for their own happiness. They want to get into better schools and get better jobs than anyone else. They want to be rich. They hate those who do better than them. They all want the larger wicker case.

The old woman says, "By the way, who are you anyway? What is your name and your job?" Jesus replies, "My job? Well, I guess it's to help people with their heavy burdens. I carry the heavy burden of sin for them, so they don't have to." Startled, the woman says, "Even my horrible sin?" Jesus assures the woman that her sins have been forgiven, and he lifts her heavy wicker case containing all the ghoulish creatures onto his own back.

Some time later, the old man comes to the forest looking for his wife. He meets Jesus and realizes that this is the man whose birthday was being celebrated at the sparrow community center. "By the way, Mr. Jesus," he says. "Fortunately I'm not like my mean and greedy wife, or like that murderer you forgave just now. I've lived righteously, without having committed a single sin in my life. And that means you won't have to carry more burdens on account of me."

"Is that right?" Jesus says. "But there is not a single person in the world who is righteous." The old man protests, "What about me? Everyone knows that the old man in the story of Shitakiri-suzume is kind and pure-hearted. I don't have any sin." "Then what's that behind you?" Jesus asks. When the old man turns around, he comes face to face with a long-nosed Tengu goblin, the symbol of arrogance. "This is the true condition of your heart," Jesus tells him. "To say that you have no sin is a very serious sin indeed. As bad or worse than anything your wife has done. If you recognize it, you can repent. Otherwise, the sin remains."

After a great deal of soul-searching, the old man replies, "I feel like I've woken from a dream, and I can see what the truth really is. I've always thought of myself as a good man, but all these years, I've secretly scorned and ridiculed my wife." The old man receives Jesus' forgiveness and Jesus adds the long-nosed goblin to the load he already bears on his back. He laboriously walks up a hill to a wooden cross, and the stage lights dim. A narrator explains why Jesus had to be crucified, and directs the audience to the Bible for further explanation.

While preparing this blog post, I learned that a picture book titled Shitakiri-Suzume no Kurisumasu (The Tongue-cut Sparrow's Christmas), based on Miura's script, was published in December 2008. 5000 copies were printed, and unless they are sold out, it can be ordered from the CHEA JAPAN website (Japanese only): http://www.cheajapan.com/ for 1680 yen.

call for readers

2009-10-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

I am seeking readers for my un-published translation of Bitou (tail lights), one of the short stories in the collection titled Dokumugi no Toki (season of the tares). Bitou is about a man in retirement, and explores how retirement, among other factors, brings about a change in the way his family and former subordinates relate to him. It is only about ten pages long. If you are a native English speaker, avid reader, and interested in this subject, you maybe able to help me by giving me feedback on whether or not you feel Westerners would find the story interesting, and what you think Miura was trying to convey. Interested readers may email me at miuraworld at mac dot com.

deiryuu chitai

2009-10-07T03:20:00.000-07:00

On May 24, 1926 (Taisho 15), the pioneer farming villages of Kami-Furano and Biei in central Hokkaido were nearly destroyed when Mt.Tokachi erupted, causing a river of boulders and melting snow to sweep through the valley and decimate nearly everything in its path-- including 144 lives.

Fifty years after the eruption, in 1975, Miura Ayako went to Kami-Furano to interview the survivors of the disaster and to hear of the incredible hardships they were forced to bear in order to rebuild their lives. In 1976, the Hokkaido Shinbun newspaper began to serialize Deiryuu Chitai (Mud flow zone), Miura's novel about the Mt.Tokachi disaster. It is one of her most powerful works, and I think I am more eager to see it get published in English translation than just about any of her other novels.

Starting this month, the tenth anniversary of Miura's death, and going till March 2010, the Miura Ayako Literature Museum in Asahikawa will be holding a Special Exhibit on "The Making of the Novel: Deiryuu Chitai." Miura's field notes and interview records will be on display, along with documents, news reports, and photographs related to the Mt. Tokachi eruption.

If you are fortunate enough to be in Asahikawa between now and next March, be sure to take in the Deiryuu Chitai exhibit. And if that is not possible, check out the Deiryuu Chitai summary and sample chapter that are posted on the World of Miura Ayako homepage.

korean version of miura ayako's life and times

2009-09-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

Kamui Mintara's special issue focusing on Miura Ayako's life and times, which I was asked to translate into English (introduced in earlier post), has now been translated into Korean. Copies are available free to visitors of the Miura Ayako Literature Museum in Asahikawa. You may also be able to get them in bulk by contacting the sponsoring organization, Rin'yu Kanko (contact information at the end of each language version of the special issue). Follow the links here to get to the original Japanese version, the English version, and the most recent Korean version.

miura documentary

2009-09-11T04:51:00.000-07:00

This video clip is from an episode of Ano Hito ni Aitai (I wish I could meet that person once more) on Japan's public TV station NHK. It gives an overview of Miura Ayako's life and writing. I'm afraid it's in Japanese only, but you may find parts of it interesting even without the language. Read her profile on the World of Miura Ayako website first. It should help you follow the photos. The content of Miura's interview is the same as that of her autobiography Michi Ariki (The Wind is Howling). I was privileged to correspond with Ayako for over 20 years, and visited the Miuras in their Asahikawa home on several occasions. The footage of them in their living room and kitchen brings back so many memories...

miura quotes

2009-08-30T20:01:00.001-07:00

Have you ever looked at the quotes page on the World of Miura Ayako website? Whether from her works of fiction or non-fiction, Miura left behind numerous memorable quotes. Like this one from her autobiography The Wind is Howling:

Back in my room I thought hard. Although my spine was being eaten away by tuberculosis and I stumbled as I walked, we had been blind to its presence simply because it had not appeared on the X-ray. If this ignorance had continued, might not all my bones have been affected? I certainly would have died. And then I thought, "The same could be true of my soul." Maybe I did not realize my heart was being eaten away or how infected I was, simply because I was unaware of my sin. I found this thought very frightening.

--or this one from the as-yet-untranslated collection of essays, Kodoku no tonari (next door to loneliness):

Life is as full of material to learn from as a gravel road is full of stones. Not having gone to school is itself something to learn from. So is poverty, a weak constitution, failure, a broken heart, ignorance, prosperity, and adversity. If you have the will to learn from it, anything can be teaching material.

What passages from a Miura book have left a lasting impression on you? Please share them with us in the comments box below.

for mystery lovers

2009-08-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

Hiroki Meiro (working title of English translation: Endless Maze) is a fast-paced novella about corporate trickery, murder, and revenge set in the '70s, during the peak of Japan's economic boom years, just before the "bursting" of the economic bubble. If some of Miura's weightier novels (Freezing Point, Hidden Ranges) were to be compared to a seven-course meal, then Endless Maze would be a very satisfying afternoon snack. No matter how many times I've read it (even knowing how it ends), it still gives me goose bumps. It is highly entertaining, and thought-provoking without being preachy. And, as is typical of Miura's writing, it has no "happily-ever-after" ending.

Read the summary if you don't mind having the ending spoiled for you, or go to the sample chapter to get a feel for the characters and writing style. Does the sample chapter grab you, or not? Why? I'd appreciate your leaving a comment below.

shiokari pass museum

2009-08-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

The Shiokari Pass Museum, established to commemorate one of Miura's most beloved novels, is located next to the Shiokari Toge train station on Hokkaido's Soya line, just north of Asahikawa. Shiokari Toge, the novel that made this section of the Soya line famous, is based on true events that took place there in 1909, when railway employee Masao Nagano threw himself in front of a runaway passenger train to prevent it from hurtling into the gorge.

The building itself is a restoration of the house Ayako and her husband Mitsuyo lived in during the early years of their marriage, and was moved here from its original location in Asahikawa. It was while living in this house that Miura wrote her debut novel Hyoten (Freezing Point) which became a social phenomenon. The museum reproduces the conditions of Miura's daily life during those years, including the small miscellaneous goods shop she managed from the front room of their home. Click here for photos.

The museum is open from the beginning of April to the end of November, every day of the week except Mondays, from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. The admission fee is 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for children. Phone 0165-32-4088 for further information (Japanese only).

Among English-speaking readers, Shiokari Pass is probably the best known and loved of Miura's works. For those who would like to learn more about this book, read the summary on the World of Miura Ayako homepage.

book recommendation (spirit matters)

2009-07-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

There are very few scholarly treatments of Miura's works available in English, and what few there are, are usually papers published in academic journals to which most Miura fans, and other readers (i.e. potential fans), do not have easy access. So I was very pleased when I discovered Spirit Matters: The Transcendent in Modern Japanese Literature by Philip Gabriel. Here is a review of the book which I posted on amazon:

A scholarly study of this quality and from this perspective was long overdue. I was especially captivated by the first half of the book, which discusses the works of two contemporary Japanese women authors, Miura Ayako and Sono Ayako. As a passionate fan of Miura Ayako's writing, I was thrilled to see her works taken seriously by a Western scholar, and I find it difficult to understand why it has taken so long for her to be noticed. Gabriel "gets the point" of the books he discusses, he grasps the nuances of the original Japanese, and his analysis is thoughtful, scholarly, and at the same time highly readable. I hope to see more studies of this nature in the near future.

See more reviews and book details here.

miura ayako book clubs

2009-07-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

What is commonly referred to as the "Hyoten Boom" swept through Japan in the years following the publication of Miura Ayako's debut novel Hyoten (Freezing Point, Asahi Shimbunsha, 1964). For the next forty years, Hyoten and the Miura novels that followed it were enormously popular, and many were made into television dramas and films for the silver screen. It may be that Miura's works are not as widely read as they once were, but it is safe to say that there is always a Miura book club going on somewhere in Japan (and most likely Korea as well). In addition to the museum-sponsored book discussions held regularly at the Miura Ayako Literature Museum, the Miura Ayako Dokushokai (Miura Ayako Book-reading Society) organizes book clubs all over Japan. I myself participate in a book club that meets every other month in Sapporo. Our lecturer/discussion leader is Morishita Tatsue, former professor of Japanese literature at Fukuoka Women's University and current special researcher attached to the museum. The society also plans special lectures and tours to locations of significance to Miura Ayako's works. As far as I know, the society's book clubs are all conducted in Japanese. I started the English-language Miura Ayako Book Club group on Facebook a year ago, and strongly encourage English-speakers of any nationality to join us there. If anyone reading this blog knows of other Miura book clubs conducted in English, please post the information in the comments box below.

the wind is howling

2009-07-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

The English version of Michi Ariki (Shufunotomo, 1969), the first in Miura's autobiographical series, was translated by Valerie Griffiths and published in the US by InterVarsity Press in 1977 under the title The Wind is Howling. I recently learned that it was republished by OMF (Singapore) in 1990. Anything that makes this book more accessible is welcome news, because it is an excellent introduction to this remarkable writer. Here is part of a review I posted on Amazon.com:

Valerie Griffiths' excellent translation and abridgment of the first volume of Ayako Miura's autobiographical Michi Ariki series is a pleasure to read. Miura's unflinching honesty about herself and about the world comes through clearly. The book spans Miura's life from the end of WWII (after she lost faith in all forms of authority, in herself, and in the line that separates truth from falsehood), through long and life-threatening illness, till she finds faith in the God of the Bible and gets married to Mitsuyo Miura. The second (as yet untranslated) volume of the series covers the early years of their marriage and the start of her enormously successful career as a novelist. In the third volume (also untranslated) Miura writes about her Christian faith.

Check out the other reviews of The Wind is Howling on Amazon. It is absolutely worth taking the trouble to track down a copy of this book. A quick search on the internet uncovered many used copies for sale through various vendors. Or ask your local library to get hold of a copy through the library network. A lengthier summary of the book can be found on the Japan Christian Link website for those who are curious about the details.

miura ayako literature museum

2009-06-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Miura Ayako Literature Museum in Asahikawa, the author's birthplace and lifelong home. The attractive building that houses the exhibits, library, and meeting rooms is nestled in a corner of the actual forest that was the setting for Miura's best-selling debut novel Hyoten. The museum has a website (Japanese only) packed full of information ranging from descriptions of the author's works to museum-sponsored events. Of particular interest to fans and students of Mura's novels, are the lectures given by prominent scholars and literary critics on many of her works, including some of the lesser-known short stories. As the number of visitors from outside of Japan increases, so has the number of language support services offered by the museum. Besides being known as the "entrance" to Daisetsuzan National Park, the city of Asahikawa boasts the award-winning Asahiyama Zoo, the Snow Crystal Museum, the Yukara-ori Folk Craft Museum, and many other places that make Miura's hometown worth the detour on any trip to Hokkaido.

The address of the Miura Ayako Literature Museum is:
7-jo 8-chome, Kagura, Asahikawa, Hokkaido 070-8007
tel (o166)69-2626
fax (0166)69-2611

It is open everyday between June 1 to September 30, 2009. At other times of the year, it is closed on Mondays, and if Monday is a holiday, it is closed on the following Tuesday instead. The entrance fee for adult visitors is 500 yen.

kairei: book, film, and stage production

2009-06-11T04:59:00.000-07:00

In December of 1832, a Japanese sailing vessel called the Hojunmaru set sail from the village of Onoura with a cargo of rice and a crew of 14. It was headed for Edo (present-day Tokyo), but was destined never to reach it. Crippled by storms, the ship drifted across the Pacific Ocean for fourteen months. Only three of the crew were left alive when the ship finally reached the northwest coast of North America. All this was merely the beginning of events that would throw the Edo government into turmoil and change the course of history in the Pacific region. In 1981, Asahi Shimbunsha published Miura Ayako's historical novel Kairei, which was about these very events. The novel was influential in raising interest in those long-forgotten castaways (a man and two boys) who had been at the center of them. In the summer of 1984, while I was visiting the Miura's home in Asahikawa, Ayako asked me to consider translating Kairei into English. A film version of Kairei (a joint effort by World Wide Pictures and Shochiku Co.) was scheduled to be released very shortly, and it seemed good sense to make the English translation of the novel available to the public as soon as possible. It didn't quite turn out that way. Background research alone took the better part of a year. I visited many of the locations mentioned in the book. I studied reduced-scale models of ships of the same type as the Hojunmaru. I met and interviewed the only living relative of Otokichi, the central character of the novel. It took two years to translate the book, and it was another seven years before it was published. In 1993, the same year my English translation of Kairei was published under the title Hidden Ranges, a Nagoya-based theater group produced Nippon Otokichi Monogatari (English title: Global Drifter Otokichi), a musical based on the life of Otokichi. They have performed it several times in Japan and certain overseas locations significant to the story.

Here are some more links for info on the events described in Kairei.
Otokichi:a life lost and found
The Otokichi Saga- A Postscript

hyoten drama

2009-06-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

Last year I received an email from a college student in Brazil who professed to be swept away by the latest dramatization of Hyoten (Freezing Point). Curious about Miura Ayako, he had tracked me down through my book club on Orcut to find out more about her. Hyoten, the debut novel that made Miura's name a household word in Japan, has been dramatized on several occasions for both TV and the silver screen. The one that the student had seen (on Brazilian TV!) is the version we call Hyoten 2006. It was made to be shown on Japanese television in two parts, over two consecutive days, and actually covers not only Hyoten, but also its sequel, Zoku-Hyoten. In contrast to the previous version (Hyoten 2001), which dared to change the setting of the story to modern Japan, Hyoten 2006 was faithful to the post-war setting of the book, and the actors playing the central characters did a great job. The musical score is memorable as well, and was instrumental in attracting a great many young viewers who might not have bothered otherwise. For those who are interested in the making of Hyoten 2006, the names of the people involved can be found on DramaWiki, and video clips can be found on YouTube by searching "Hyoten fanvideo" and "Tegoshi's Drama." DramaWiki's summary of the plot is lifted straight off my website. If you would like to know more about Hyoten's plot, go to the World of Miura Ayako homepage.

internet links to miura mentions

2009-06-05T00:55:00.000-07:00

The Japan Literature Home Page is a good resource for those interested in Japanese literature. Their blurb on Miura Ayako can be found by clicking here.

Word of Life Press has a Music Catalog that includes a description of the movie Kairei (Hidden Ranges) based on Miura's novel of that name.

Wikipedia has an entry on Ayako Miura (contributed by me, actually), but one of the cool things about it is that there are links to the Miura entries on the Korean and Chinese versions of Wikipedia on the left side of the page (under "languages")

Most sites that mention Miura Ayako have "borrowed" from my World of Miura homepage, or from the Wikipedia article. But if I find any more sites with original content, I'll keep adding them here.

tour company publishes special issue on miura's life & times

2009-06-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

Kamui Mintara started out as a bi-monthly magazine published by the Hokkaido-based tour company Rinyu Corporation to introduce customers to the culture and customs of Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido. Beginning with Issue 2:1 (121st issue) the magazine became available to the general public on the internet as Webmagazine Kamui Mintara. Rinyu Corporation's President Ueda has been a lifelong fan of Miura Ayako's works and a great supporter of The Miura Ayako Literature Museum in Asahikawa. In 1986, Ueda published a special issue of Kamui Mintara devoted to Miura's life and works. To commemorate the tenth anniversary of Miura's death, Ueda arranged for this special issue to be translated into English. Paper versions of the English translation are already available free to visitors of the Miura Museum, or by writing to Rinyu Corporation. A Korean translation is currently in the works and should be available soon. You can get to the web version of the Miura special issue by going to the Kamui Mintara website and clicking on the banner that directs you (in English) to the page, or you can go directly to My Life and Times. Note: The phrase Kamui Mintara comes from the Ainu language (northern Japan's indigenous people), and can be translated as "playground of the gods," a reference to the high reaches of Hokkaido's Mt.Taisetsu National Park which is famous for its alpine flora.

brief intro to miura ayako

2009-06-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

Hokkaido-based novelist Miura Ayako (1922-1999) took Japanese society by storm with her debut novel Hyoten (Freezing Point) in 1964, when it won the prestigious Ten Million Yen Award from the Asahi Newspaper and set off a Hyoten boom all over Japan. With this dramatic entrance into the literary world, Miura began to publish numerous works of fiction and non-fiction. Many became bestsellers and many were remade as feature-length films and television dramas. The aim of this blog is to introduce this amazing writer and her works to English-language readers. Please go to the World of Miura Ayako homepage to see a detailed profile, as well as summaries and sample translations of her works.

about this blog

2009-06-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

Among other things, I am a professional translator of Japanese to English. It's true that being born and raised in Japan gave me an edge in the field, but what made me determined to pursue this career was a chance encounter with a book. A novel by Miura Ayako. I was back in Japan for the summer after my second year at an American college, and I was looking for something to read. Something that would refresh my Japanese, which had grown a bit rusty with disuse. I picked a book from my father's book case. The title Hitsujigaoka (sheep hill) intrigued me because I was familiar with the part of town it referred to. I became so gripped by the novel that for the next three days I could barely tear myself away even to eat or to sleep. By the time I finished it, I knew that I would spend the rest of my life gaining the skills and education necessary for me to introduce Miura's works to English readers.

That was almost 35 years ago. I did become a translator. In what bits of spare time I could find between the commercial translating jobs I took to help put food on the table, I lovingly labored over Miura's novels. Until she passed away in 1999, I corresponded with her regularly, and on several occasions met with her to discuss projects. This blog is intended to supplement the World of Miura Ayako website and the Miura Ayako Book Club on Facebook. I hope to use this as a forum to link readers and bloggers who are already fans of Miura, and post news and articles of interest to us all. Ultimately, though, my desire is to get more of Miura's works published in English for English readers all over the world. I hope to link up with people who can support and encourage this endeavor, as I intend to support and encourage the efforts of others who feel as I do.