Discourse of Disbelief Overshadowing Most Japanese Quran Translations
Translator of the first translation of the Quran into Japanese with a Shia approach said most of the Japanese renderings of the Holy Book have been shaded by a discourse of disbelief.
In an interview with IQNA, Hojat-ol-Islam Ibrahim Savada (Tasuichi) added that except for Omar Mita, other translators of the Quran into Japanese were non-Muslims and that has influenced their choice of words and sentences.
He said so far the Quran has been translated into Japanese 13 times, noting that 6 of the renderings are now available, including the ones by Kenichi Sakamoto (1920, Kaizusha Publications), Shomei Okawa (1950, Iwasaki Shoton Publications), Toshihiko Izutsu (1957, Iwanami Shoton Publishers), Omar Mita (1982, Japanese Muslim Association’s Publications), Muhammad Owais Atsushi Kubayashi (1988, Ahmadia Society’s Publications) and Katsuji Fujimoto and Colleagues (2002, Chuwakoron Shinsa Publihsers).
He said Okawa’s work is in an obsolete language and therefore difficult to understand for people today but Fujimoto’s translations is more acceptable.
As for Izutsu’s rendering, Hojat-ol-Islam Savada said it was written in a way that does not reflect the Divine nature of the Revelation.
He noted that Omar Mita’s work is a relatively good one, though it was written from a Sunni point of view and its content is sometimes contrary to Shia beliefs.
Referring to his own translation, Hojat-ol-Islam Savada said he started the rendering in 1989 and has just completed it. “The editing will finish in a month and it will be published by the Tarjoma-e Vahy (translation of Revelation) Center and Al-Mustafa International University.”
He said Seyyed Heshmatollah Ghalamizadeh and Sachik Shibata are the editors of the work who compare it with the Persian translation of the Quran by Mojtabawi and English translation by Ali Quli Qara'i.
Savada further referred to the characteristics of a good translation of the Quran, saying that Quran is a Divine Book and, therefore, part of this Divine quality should be reflected in the translation so that the reader can feel what kind of text he is reading.
He added that a Quran translation should have clarity and the words should be translated precisely. “Also, it should clear for the reader where a translator’s interpretational views are being presented not the exact text of the Quran.”
The scholar pointed out that many Arabic words do not have exact equivalents in Japanese. “For example the Japanese equivalent for Allah is Kami but it does not reflect the monotheistic view of Islam about God. On the other hand, if the world Allah is used, the Japanese reader might think it refers to Muslims’ God not the Japanese God.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, Savada highlighted lack of books about Islam in Japanese and praised the Al-Mustafa International University for starting to translate and publish books about the Ahl-ul-Bayt’s (AS) Quranic views into Japanese.
Born in 1964 in Tokyo, Hojat-ol-Islam Ibrahim Savada is an Al-Mustafa University graduate. He has set up the Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) Center in Tokyo and serves as the educational and research deputy of the university’s branch in Japan.
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He said so far the Quran has been translated into Japanese 13 times, noting that 6 of the renderings are now available, including the ones by Kenichi Sakamoto (1920, Kaizusha Publications), Shomei Okawa (1950, Iwasaki Shoton Publications), Toshihiko Izutsu (1957, Iwanami Shoton Publishers), Omar Mita (1982, Japanese Muslim Association’s Publications), Muhammad Owais Atsushi Kubayashi (1988, Ahmadia Society’s Publications) and Katsuji Fujimoto and Colleagues (2002, Chuwakoron Shinsa Publihsers).
He said Okawa’s work is in an obsolete language and therefore difficult to understand for people today but Fujimoto’s translations is more acceptable.
As for Izutsu’s rendering, Hojat-ol-Islam Savada said it was written in a way that does not reflect the Divine nature of the Revelation.
He noted that Omar Mita’s work is a relatively good one, though it was written from a Sunni point of view and its content is sometimes contrary to Shia beliefs.
Referring to his own translation, Hojat-ol-Islam Savada said he started the rendering in 1989 and has just completed it. “The editing will finish in a month and it will be published by the Tarjoma-e Vahy (translation of Revelation) Center and Al-Mustafa International University.”
He said Seyyed Heshmatollah Ghalamizadeh and Sachik Shibata are the editors of the work who compare it with the Persian translation of the Quran by Mojtabawi and English translation by Ali Quli Qara'i.
Savada further referred to the characteristics of a good translation of the Quran, saying that Quran is a Divine Book and, therefore, part of this Divine quality should be reflected in the translation so that the reader can feel what kind of text he is reading.
He added that a Quran translation should have clarity and the words should be translated precisely. “Also, it should clear for the reader where a translator’s interpretational views are being presented not the exact text of the Quran.”
The scholar pointed out that many Arabic words do not have exact equivalents in Japanese. “For example the Japanese equivalent for Allah is Kami but it does not reflect the monotheistic view of Islam about God. On the other hand, if the world Allah is used, the Japanese reader might think it refers to Muslims’ God not the Japanese God.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, Savada highlighted lack of books about Islam in Japanese and praised the Al-Mustafa International University for starting to translate and publish books about the Ahl-ul-Bayt’s (AS) Quranic views into Japanese.
Born in 1964 in Tokyo, Hojat-ol-Islam Ibrahim Savada is an Al-Mustafa University graduate. He has set up the Ahl-ul-Bayt (AS) Center in Tokyo and serves as the educational and research deputy of the university’s branch in Japan.
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