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FORUM
Vol. 17:1 (2019) ► pp.39–61

Translating ‘Nation’

Translation practices during the modernization of Japan

| Juntendo University
| Juntendo University

This article focuses on the Japanese words kokumin and minzoku, both of which are used to translate ‘nation’ into Japanese, and explores the dynamic aspects of translation practice in the process of Japan’s modernization in the mid-Meiji era (1868–1912). The kanji (Chinese characters) compounds kokumin (國民) and minzoku (民族) were both coined during the late nineteenth century during the introduction of Western concepts into Japanese society. Kokumin first appeared as a translation word at the predawn of Japan’s modernization period and, by the mid-Meiji era, when the alternative translation minzoku emerged, kokumin was relatively widespread. This paper analyzes texts written by leading intellectuals and journalists in Japan at the time and attempts to contextualize them within their sociocultural and historical background. The analysis indicates that the rise of nationalism around the mid-Meiji era, Japan’s achievement in establishing a modern state and its involvement in territorial expansion in East Asia beginning with the Sino-Japanese war (1894–1895), as well as its simultaneous struggle to unify the Japanese people as kokumin, were crucial aspects in determining the use of the alternative translation, minzoku.

Keywords: nation, Meiji era (1868–1912), Japanese, modernization, context-oriented approach
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
  • 3.Context-oriented approach and data
  • 4.Socio-cultural and historical context of the mid-Meiji period
    • 4.1Translation words for nation
    • 4.2The Meiji Restoration and agents of translation
    • 4.3The establishment of the modern nation-state and its territorial expansion
  • 5.Usage of kokumin and minzoku
    • 5.1Explanations of dictionary entry words
    • 5.2Sohô Tokutomi’s works
    • 5.3Katsunan Kuga’s works
    • 5.4Setsurei Miyake’s works
  • 6.Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 26 July 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/forum.18005.tsu
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