Adaptions of Western Literature in Meiji Japan

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This work examines three examples of late 19th century Japanese adaptations of Western literature: a biography of U.S. Grant recasting him as a Japanese warrior, a Victorian novel reset as oral performance, and an American melodrama redone as a serialized novel promoting the reform of Japanese theatre. Written from a comparative perspective, it argues that adaptation (hon'an) was a valid form of contemporary Japanese translation that fostered creative appropriation across many genres and among a diverse group of writers and artists. In addition, it invites readers to reconsider adaptation in the context of translation theory.