Re: Imperative in Japanese Story Titles

On 5 Feb 2007 17:18:07 -0800, Cindy wrote:

On Feb 5, 5:01 pm, Phil Yff <phil....@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 4 Feb 2007 18:12:45 -0800, Cindy wrote:





Reminds me of one of my favorites それゆけ、ジーヴス. (Although I have to
admitI've not read it in Japanese yet.)

Does that mean I can count キル.ビル and キル.ビル2?  I've watched both titles in
Japanese and own the Japanese Region 2 DVDs.  (笑)

Ha! Nice one...

I have not read any of the Jeeves books in Japanese but I'm a big fan of
P.G. Wodehouse in English.

Phil Yff

Me too, I'm a huge Wodehouse fan, especially of Jeeves and Psmith.
I've almost been tempted to buy some of his books in Japanese, but I
wonder if the translation would be able to capture Wodehouse's style.
Maybe I'll break down and buy one someday and be pleasantly surprised.

I would not be optimistic.  After all, the English writers who tried to
emulate his light, airy wit all fell short.  However, I think it would be
worth it to buy at least one book.  The reason I have Kill Bill, Last
Samurai, and Memoires of a Geisha in Japanese is because I am curious how a
Japanese translation addresses works written in English about Japan.
Wodehouse not only has his unique style but he deals with a very unique
slice of society.  It would be interesting to see how a Japanese
translation copes with that.

Sometimes, slightly incorrect.

Are the translations generally good?  In other words, is the incorrectness
just a result of the impossibility of properly portraying this unique
British culture in another language.  Or, is the incorrectness the result
of the translations not being very good?

I guess the translator does anything to make sense to the readers who
are not supposed to understand the original language.

Like changing the title of Mishima's 午後の曳航 to "The Sailor Who Fell from
Grace with the Sea", changing the setting from Japan to Dover, changing
Tsukazaki Ryuji's name to Jim Cameron and letting Kris Kristofferson play
the role in the movie based on the book?

Like the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" was titled 「ビートルズがやってくる！ヤァ！ヤァ！
ヤァ」.

http://aabou.web.infoseek.co.jp/addition/beatlesandme/3.htm

Interesting.

This sounds like something I would do - a play on words that misses the
mark.  It's clever - combining the 1963 "The Beatles Come to Town" with
"She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah."  However, it's a little too clever for
its own good - much like most of my jokes that fall flat.  The original
title reflects the point of view of the Beatles and the translated title
reflects the point of view of the fans.

Right.  Who did this?

I Want To Hold Your Hand ⇒　抱きしめたい

I don't remember which city I saw this.  It could be London or a small
town in the US.  The movie I talked about a while ago -- Merry
Christmas! Mr. Lawrence  / 戦争のメリークリスマス was showing as "Furyo" in the
theatre.

I like Sakamoto Ryuuichi (or Ryuichi Sakamoto as he lists himself in
English credits) very much and this is one of two movies that he starred in
as well as composing the score.  I had seen the movie as 戦場のメリークリスマス
although I think in Europe it was often shown as Furyo.  My guess is you
saw it in London.

A movie like this poses interesting translation questions.  The movie was a
Japanese/UK collaboration.  The screenplay was co-written by a Japanese and
an Englishman.  I would hope the Japanese director (who also co-wrote the
screenplay) would have some say as to the movie's Japanese title(s).  For
that matter, I'm sure he had a big say in the English title of the movie
which was changed from the title of the book on which it was based.

If I remember correctly, the movie also starred Zatoichi's Beat Takashi.

Beat Takeshi, to be exact.  Having read your post, I was not in the US
when Furyo was released in the US.  Did it make a bit hit here?

Yes, Beat Takeshi - thanks.  I like him as an actor I should have spelled
his name correctly.

Don't worry about it. I noticed now that I had spelled "big" wrongly
as well.


The movie was not a big hit but it was very much respected.  Not being a
Hollywood production, it didn't get the same marketing and exposure.
However, it was nominated for several awards and received a lot of critical
acclaim.  It is an enduring movie.  It is played on cable TV every so
often.

Even David Bowie was starring? Is David Bowie popular in the US? I
guess not.

At the time, he was very popular. One of the big UK exports to the US is
music. David Bowie is also respected as an actor. Perhaps his most
well-known role (at least early on) was in "The Man Who Fell to Earth".
Interestingly, Paul Mayersberg who co-wrote the "Merry Christmas Mr.
Lawrence" wrote the screenplay for "The Man Who Fell to Earth".

Phil Yff
.

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