Guest lecture by Maral Andassova, historian of ancient literature, Assistant Professor at Waseda Institute for Advanced Study, Waseda University, Japan and Visiting Scholar, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies and Department of Global Studies, Aarhus University:

This guest lecture will examine the first translations of Japanese mythology into English during the Meiji period (1868-1912), with a focus on texts such as Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Matters, 712) and Nihonshoki (The Chronicles of Japan, 720). It will consider the cultural, historical, and political background of this period and clarify what led European scholars to translate ancient Japanese texts. Furthermore, it will investigate the influence of these translations on Japanese academia during the Meiji period and in later years.

THE SPEAKER’S BIO
Andassova Maral, Ph.D., received her doctorate in Literature from Bukkyo University (Kyoto) in 2013. She is an Assistant Professor at the Waseda Institute of Advanced Studies. Her recent book, Metamorphoses of Yamato - Another Perspective on Ancient Japanese Mythology, was published by Seidosha (Tokyo) in 2020. Her current research is focused on the history of reception and translation of Japanese mythology captured in the Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Matters, 712) and Nihonshoki (The Chronicles of Japan, 720).

MORE INFO
The talk has been organised by Eiko Honda as part of the 3^rd year undergraduate course Topics in Modern Japanese History and Culture and open to all audience. If participants would like to receive pre-class readings assigned to students, please contact eiko.honda@cas.au.dk

POSTER
Download the poster below.