Q&A with author Yoko Tawada

On July 27, the Global Japanese Studies Model Unit of the Top Global University Project welcomed author Yoko Tawada and organized the workshop “Q&A with author Yoko Tawada.” Professor Miho Matsunaga of the Faculty of Letters, Arts, and Sciences served as the coordinator and moderator of the event. Matsunaga’s graduate advisees and graduate students from other universities attended the three-hour workshop to ask Tawada about the worldview of her works and her attitude towards writing. There were also participants from Romania and Korea, and the workshop became a place where opinions were exchanged from various perspectives. The workshop proceeded as Tawada answered a list of prepared questions from the audience. Tawada would answer them, and the audience would join in to express their personal views. The following topics were covered in the workshop:

On translations

Impressions created by letters (kanji) are one of the most important aspects in Tawada’s texts. The conversation on this topic unfolded with the question of how Tawada feels about the shape and figure of letters disappearing when her work is translated into a language with a different writing system, such as the alphabet. For example, in “Hikon（飛魂）,”the character’s names are 梨水and亀鏡、both unique combinations of kanji. Even Tawada herself claimed to have not yet decided on how to call these characters (for there are more than just one way to read kanji). For the English translation of this work, however, the characters were given a Chinese pronunciation to their names, and Tawada spoke on how she thought it was interesting that translations could go in unexpected directions. Her comment on how she captures kanji like pictures from comic books left an impression. One audience asked what Tawada, who is also a translator, paid attention to when translating Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” into Japanese. Tawada said she translated the text as if she were going into the body of the Ungeziefer (the insect), which the protagonist, Samsa, metamorphoses into, and received comments from readers that they were able absorb themselves into the novel. There were mentions about Tawada’s self-translated works from German to Japanese and vice versa, such as “Henshin no tame no opium（変身のためのオピウム）” and “Yuki no rensyu-sei（雪の練習生）Memoirs of a Polar Bear (2016, New Directions Publishing).” Further, when writing “Tabi wo suru hadaka no me（旅をする裸の眼）The Naked Eye (2009, New Directions Publishing),” a book simultaneously written in Japanese and German, Tawada explained that she experienced a bitterness of not being able write in a way that she wanted to no matter what, and a feeling she felt as if a new text between the Japanese and German languages was being created.

On animals

Many animals make an appearance in Tawada’s works. On the question of whether Tawada deliberately illustrates these animals differently from humans, she said, “Animals are beings with different desires from humans,” and referred to them as complete strangers in the forest. In “Nisou to cupid no yumi（尼僧とキューピッドの弓）” and “Henshin no tame no opium（変身のためのオピウム）,” there is a clear motif of transforming into birds. Tawada said she has both interest and admiration for the fact that birds can understand the words of others. She spoke on how she sees animals, including how in Japan, there is no hierarchical difference between animals and humans in contrast to Europe, which is human-centric.

On the difference between poetry and literature

In regards to this question from the audience, Tawada asked them how they would answer it if they were to explain it to a young child. There were varying opinions: “A novel is a story that presents a plot, and poetry is a play-on-words in which the sound is highlighted;” “Poetry is condensed in a small number of words while words of novels flow;” and “I would have children read particular texts and tell them that one is a poem and the other is a novel.” Rather than having the writer makes the distinction, Tawada suggested that the distinction could be made by determining whether the work has more of a commercial or social aspect to it. She also explained the feeling of writing out images which come even before words, giving a glimpse of her stance towards words which go beyond genres.

On the writing environment and creation of a book

From graduate students studying creative writing, there were questions on the kind of environment they should be writing in and how Tawada prepares herself to write. She thoroughly answered questions on the time and place she writes, and whether she decides on a topic to write about beforehand or not. The conversation also touched upon editing and bookbinding.The process of how a book is created from when a text is written was interesting.     

On the interest in words

In April 2018, “Chikyuu ni chiribamerarete（地球にちりばめられて）” was published. This work raises awareness on many issues such as immigrants, language, and identity, even more so than her previous works. Upon answering questions on this work, Tawada spoke on how issues with multilingualism are an everyday problem beyond novels in Europe. She also talked about personal pronouns. The narrator in “Chikyuu ni chiribamerarete（地球にちりばめられて）” changes every chapter. From this, the conversation expanded on the use of first person singular “I” and second person singular “you” in “Yougisha no yakou ressha（容疑者の夜行列車）.” Lastly, when asked about interesting words in the city which strummed on the heartstring of Tawada, a word collector, she referred to advertisements she saw at a train station kiosk, targeted to move hearts of people. This included words such as kari kari ume sando (crisp sour-plum sandwich), yurutto doubutsu (easygoing animals), and odekake pass (going-out pass). She also suggested that perhaps fictionality is a problem of language itself, showing Tawada’s stance towards her continuous pursuit to constantly look for new and unique words. With breaks in between, the three-hour workshop passed by quickly. In a welcoming atmosphere, the discussion expanded in all directions from questions related to the research topics of the participants, and the event proved to be very productive.