Hidden culture: the translator as cultural guide.

At other times we find allusions to normal customs of behaviour, or violations thereof, which are implicit to the Japanese reader but must be 'unfolded' in the translation:

Chichi to otto no mae mo habakarazu, Misa wa koe o agete naita.

(Shiokari toge, p.341)

(lit: Without hesitating in front of her father and husband, Misa cried loudly.)

...and disregarding Japanese custom, Misa burst into loud sobs in her father's and husband's presence.

(Shiokari Pass, p.250)

We can see here how the translators weave into the text their own interpretation of the sub-text. More examples can be found in which the translator adds information to guide the reader to the sub-text. The following exchange concerns to the name of a pet dog:

" Nan to iu namae? "

"Rindii. Rindobaagu no koto da yo, haikura no na darou?"

(Tade kuu mushi, p.45)

(lit: "What's the name?"

"Lindy. As in Lindbergh. High class name, isn't it?")

The sub-text here is clear to the Japanese reader, but the non-Japanese reader may fail to realize that it is the foreignness of the name Lindbergh that makes the speaker consider it high class, and will certainly miss the significance of the speaker's choice of the expression haikura, derived from the English high class. The clashes between characters in this novel are intentionally symbolic of a wider struggle between traditional (Japanese) values and customs and new (foreign) customs and values. The sub-text to be unfolded here is the second speaker's enthusiasm for all things foreign. Hence:

"What's his name?"

"Lindy. It's short for Lindbergh. A high class imported name."

(Some Prefer Nettles, p.43)

In the following example the reader again needs the translator's help to uncover the sub-text:

" Futon o bou de utsu oto ga tatemono to tatemono no aida ni hibiita."

(Enrai, p.35)

(lit: The sound of hitting futons with a stick echoed between building and building.)

The original text describes a scene familiar to anyone who has lived in Japan, but others might be left wondering quite why futons are being hit with a stick and whether this is normal. The translator explains:

The sound of bedding being pounded free of dust echoed between the buildings.

(Distant Thunder, p.29)

The image is made clear by the choice of the more specific pounding rather than the literal hitting, and the reference to the dust being removed perhaps satisfies the reader that there is a logical reason for this activity. Through these subtle lexical choices the translator aims to uncover the original author's sub-text, namely ' in the nearby apartment buildings people were busy going about their normal daily business. ' This scene appears again later in the novel, by which time such elaboration is no longer necessary:

They listened to the slap of someone beating bedding on a porch. (p.165)

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