The long-term viability of the Japanese humanities as a global field depends on translation. The only way people without any Japanese can engage with cultural or intellectual production in the language, be it literature, theater, film, videogames, or scholarship, is through translations into other languages. This is as true of future scholars as it is of every casual reader or gamer.

In order for contemporary audiences to keep being able to access translations from Japanese that suit their particular tastes and needs, there needs to be both a diverse group of committed, talented translators capable of creating those translations, and an infrastructure that connects translators to editors and publishers, and to each other.

Since it expanded in 2020, the Yanai Initiative has made the maintenance of the entire ecosystem of translation from the Japanese, especially the translation of literature, a major focus. We partner with crucial organizations such as the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA), the National Centre for Writing (NCW), and the British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT) to organize summer schools, masterclasses, and mentorships in order to help cultivate the next generation of translators. And we work with publishers to produce series of translations that not only expand the variety of Japanese literature available in translation, but also help emerging translators get their foot in the door, establishing a track record necessary if they are to gain the trust of the editors and publishers that commission translations.

So far, the Yanai Initiative has focused exclusively on Japanese-English translation, but we hope to expand our support to include translations into other languages as well. We have plans, too, to begin experimenting with other forms of support aimed at independent publishers committed to particular authors over the long term.

If you are interested in literary translation from Japanese, please click

to learn more about our activities.