Translating ‘Nation’
Translation practices during the modernization of Japan
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.
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