Translations of Western fiction into Japanese during the 1870s and '80s are traditionally credited with transforming its literature. They are seen as inspiring a new literary vocabulary, expressed in Tsubouchi Shōyō’s Essence of the Novel (1885), and triggering the advent of Japan’s “first modern novel,” in Futabatei Shimei’s Drifting Clouds (1887). This talk explores how the selection of, and interpretive framework for, translation was guided by the work of Edo-period authors.

Brian Dowdle of the University of Montana is Co-Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures in the College of Humanities and Sciences and Associate Professor of Japanese. He teaches courses on Japanese literature, language, and history. He has a Ph.D. in Asian Languages and Cultures from the University of Michigan and an MA in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University. His research has an emphasis on the nineteenth century. In 2018-19, Brian served on the board of the Association for Asian Studies as the Chair of its Council of Conferences. He was also the President of the Western Association for Asian Studies from 2016-18.