Haruki Murakami and the Ethics of Translation

In his paper, "Haruki Murakami and the Ethics of Translation," Will Slocombe argues that despite the fact that Murakami has gained world-wide popularity recently, there has been little critical attention to his works outside of the comparatively narrow area of Japanese studies. Slocombe proposes that Murakami is too important an author to be limited in this way because of his definition of "translation." For Murakami, translation delineates an operative ethics between Self and Other, a dialogue that is not only between different languages and cultures, but also between the private and political spheres, and between different individuals. Slocombe discusses Murakami's works not as translations from the Japanese but presents an analysis of the theme of translation and its significance in terms of national and global identity in the context of comparative cultural studies. Translation is presented as Murakami's method of defending against hegemonic systems, whether global capitalism, political authoritarianism, or prevailing literary trends. Will Slocombe, "Haruki Murakami and the Ethics of Translation" page 2 of 11 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 6.2 (2004):