New Leaves: Studies and Translations of Japanese Literature in Honor of Edward Seidensticker (Volume 11)

Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies #11

by Edward G. Seidensticker (Editor), Anthony H. Chambers (Editor)

Edward Seidensticker is one of the pioneers of the study of Japanese literature in the West. He became an in both classical and modern Japanese literature, questioned established opinion, held high standards of scholarship, and encouraged his students to strike out into unknown territory, stimulating them to produce a combined body of work remarkable for its wide range of method and subject matter.

In New Leaves , fourteen former students honor their mentor, Edward Seidensticker, with a collection of essays and translations focusing on Japanese literature from the eleventh century to the 1980s. In keeping with Seidensticker’s own eclectic work, the approaches range from scholarly to discursive to whimsical, and the genres examined or translated include prose fiction ancient and modern, medieval and modern literary criticism, kanbun diaries, Edo and modern poetics, Shinnai ballads, modern poetry, and critical essays. The breadth and quality of New Leaves stand as a fitting testament to Seidensticker’s many contributions to the field as a teacher, scholar, and translator.

294 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Edward George Seidensticker was a distinguished American scholar, translator, and historian renowned for his translations of Japanese literature, both classical and modern. Born in 1921 near Castle Rock, Colorado, Seidensticker studied English at the University of Colorado and later became fluent in Japanese through the U.S. Navy Japanese Language School during World War II. He served in the Pacific theater as a Marine language officer, later participating in Japan’s occupation and developing a lasting affinity for the country and its culture.
Following his military service, he earned a master’s degree from Columbia University and briefly worked in the U.S. Foreign Service in Tokyo. Deciding on an academic path, he studied Japanese literature at the University of Tokyo and began translating major literary works. His translations of Yasunari Kawabata’s Snow Country and Thousand Cranes helped introduce modern Japanese literature to a Western audience and contributed to Kawabata’s Nobel Prize win in 1968. Seidensticker also translated works by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki and Yukio Mishima, and his 1976 translation of The Tale of Genji remains a landmark achievement.
He taught at Stanford, the University of Michigan, and Columbia University. Seidensticker also authored literary criticism, cultural histories, and a memoir. He received numerous honors and remains a towering figure in the field of Japan studies.