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Paper short abstract:

This paper examines the epistemic dialogue of animal species between Europe and Japan by analyzing the translation of animals in Christian writings. It explores what has contributed to the various translating strategies and outcomes, and how a new hybrid of a world of animals has come into shape.

Paper long abstract:

There are rich references to animal species, both mythological and real, in Christian writings co-produced by Jesuit missionaries and local Japanese from the late 16 century. In certain cases, the concept went through a transcultural transformation. For example, dragon and serpent appeared in Christian texts and bilingual dictionaries as daija, which has the connotation of a vicious animal in Japanese literature. In some other cases, it seems that translators could not find equivalents and the species’ names appear as transliterations - coneho (for conejo), ipotamo (for hipopótamo), kamero (for camello) - just to name a few. The process of transcultural rendering of foreign species into Japanese reflects not only the collision of the two epistemic and cultural systems but also the actual possible knowledge exchanges between foreign missionaries and Japanese. Through various translating strategies (or the lack of which), these endeavors of rendering animal species into the Japanese language have also reshaped the idea of local (the translatable) and foreign (the un-translatable) for their intended readers. This paper examines the epistemic dialogue of animal species between Europe and Japan. It strives to answer what may have contributed to the successful transformations or the (intentional) misunderstandings, and how through these translations, the composers have co-created a new hybrid of a world of animals for contemporary Japanese readers. To achieve this goal, this paper analyzes the translations of animal species among three different genres of Christian writings, doctrinal works (Fides no Dǒxi and Fides no Qvio), saint stories (Sanctos no Gosagveono Vchinvqigaqi), and literature (Esopo no fabulas). To get insights into the process of translation, the paper contrasts the translations with their European sources, possible Japanese sources, and when available, corresponding Christian literature in Chinese composed during the same period.