Edward G. Seidensticker | |
|---|---|
 Seidensticker in 2006 | |
| Born | February 11, 1921 Castle Rock, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | August 26, 2007 (aged 86) Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupation | Translator of Japanese literature, writer, author |
| Period | 1950–2006 |
Edward George Seidensticker (February 11, 1921 – August 26, 2007) was a noted post-World War II American scholar, historian, and preeminent translator of classical and contemporary Japanese literature. His English translation of the epic The Tale of Genji, published in 1976, was especially well received critically and is counted among the preferred modern translations.[1]
Seidensticker is closely associated with the work of three major Japanese writers of the 20th century: Yasunari Kawabata, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, and Yukio Mishima. His landmark translations of novels by Kawabata, in particular Snow Country (1956) and Thousand Cranes (1958), led, in part, to Kawabata being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968.[2]
- ^ "The tale of Murasaki Shikibu," The Economist (London). December 23, 1999.
- ^ Associated Press. "Leading translator of Japanese literature, Edward Seidensticker, dies in Tokyo," International Herald Tribune (Asia Pacific). August 27, 2007.