Poetyka polskiego przekładu Genji monogatari, czyli Opowieści o księciu Genjim Murasaki Shikibu
Poetics of the First Polish Translation of Genji Monogatari, or The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

The Translator’s Point of View

Summary/Abstract: The article identifies the most important translation strategies and challenges faced by the translator of the first Polish translation of Genji Monogatari, or The Tale of Genji. The work, written in 1008, is a masterpiece of not only Japanese but also world literature and is widely included in the cultural heritage of humanity. Its author, Murasaki Shikibu (?978-1025 or 1031) is considered a forerunner of modern literary fiction with a profound humanistic approach. The work itself has been translated into modern Japanese and many European languages. Originally written in classical Japanese, it is distinguished by the ambiguity of expression, lexical polysemy, elaborate honorific language, and cultural hermeticism. The author discusses how, in light of the above, the Polish translation will balance the goal of making Murasaki’s work intelligible for the Polish reader with the need of preserving the elements of ‘foreignness’ of the old Japanese culture, for the translation is intended to fulfill not only a mediating and communicative function between Polish and Japanese cultures but also a cognitive one.

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