COMMUNICATIONS

My stay at Nichibunken was not only research time for me, but also to some extent a time of adventure for me as a translator. My field of expertise is the comparative study of modernization in modern Japan and Islamic Arab society. I am also interested in how modern Japanese thought has been understood in the Arab world through translation and knowledge transfer. In other words, I pursue the strange, fascinating intellectual journey taken by ideas that originated in Japan and ended up in the discourse of Arab intellectuals. I have translated Inoue Enryo’s Kyōiku shūkyō kankei ron, and Fukuzawa Yukichi’s Onna daigaku hyōron / Shin Onna daigaku, amongst others. Translation is painstaking work, but sometimes one encounters unexpected reactions. One reader of Fukuzawa’s works wrote, “His writing seems very much as though it is offering us suggestions for the problems which contemporary Arab society confronts.” Another reviewer wrote, “To read Japanese intellectuals in Arabic is to forget for a moment that they are Japanese. But when you finish reading, you somehow get the urge to head off to Japan.”

Some people who have read and compared the works of both Enryō and Fukuzawa point out that, “Although they are both intellectuals from modern Japan, they have very different views on the relation between politics, education and religion. It is as though they were from distant countries.” Again, one reader of the works of Minobe Tatsukichi offered this perspective: “I thought that all prewar Japanese scholars of constitutional law were ultra-nationalists. I shall have to re-read Japanese history.” If it is the case that Arab readers have encountered the diversity of modern Japanese thought through my translation, then it delights me to think that my work may have served in some small way as a bridge.

I have also been asked on countless occasions: “How might the Arab world give birth to a man like Shibusawa Eiichi?” By way of reply, I often introduce Tal‘at Harb (1867–1941), who led the creation of Egypt’s modern economy. Indeed, as he is often referred to as “the Father of Modern Arab economics,” in some sense he bears comparison with Shibuzawa. But this question is also directed at me personally: “Why do scholars of Japan address Japan’s experiences as case studies unique to Japan?” “What relevance might Japan’s experiences have for contemporary Arab society?”

The endeavor of translating modern Japanese thought into Arabic serves as a mirror that not only reflects Japan; it also prompts a reconsideration of Arab society. Until now, much of the knowledge about Japan in the Arab world has been derived from materials translated from either English or Chinese. However, to read the words of Japanese intellectuals directly in Arabic is to meet a Japan that that is no longer remote, but rather a society sharing many of the same challenges as our own.

Arabic translations of works by Fukuzawa Yukichi, Inoue Enryō, Minobe Tatsukichi and others, that have served to introduce modern Japanese thought to the Arab world.