Date: Friday, April 19 (US); April 20 (Japan), 2024
Time: 7:00–9:30 p.m. EDT; 8:00 a.m. JST
Moderator: Mac Gill

Join us for a casual virtual meet-up organized around the EDT time zone for networking among wordsmiths in North America in particular. We'll begin with self-introductions and ask participants to share their thoughts and experiences about work and/or other activities they have going on. Topics are likely to include finding work opportunities, working with Japan-based clients and collaborators, finding collaborators, AI/LLM concerns, and we hope participants will suggest more.  

Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdOyqpzktG9YveCtWPAAijNTuFtBCWyQ9

Date: Saturday, April 20, 2014
Time: 2:00–4:00 p.m.
Place: Kita Kamakura, less than a minute from the station. Address to be provided.
Host: Bruce Smith (see member profile here)
Capacity: 15 (on first-come basis)
For details and directions please sign up by sending an email to SWET

A get-together of working writers, published authors, bloggers, journalists, editors, book reviewers, all those for whom writing is central to their lives, to check in on how the writing is going, talk about what’s happening in the publishing world, and share talk of the travails of a writer’s routine. This is an opportunity to catch up with old friends, connect with new people, share your recent accomplishments, and talk about what you’re working on at present. This is not a writing critique group, but a simple gathering of writers taking a break from work. BYOB. Light snacks provided. Non-members welcome.

Launched in March this year, Translator Tuesdays are casual virtual meet-ups to talk about translation: experiences, questions, reading, strategies, tools, travails, and trivia. The hour-long sessions, moderated by Daniel Morales, start at 8:00 p.m. JST on the first Tuesday of the month. Here is what is coming up:

June 4  In June, we will focus our conversation on the language we use to communicate as translators. What vocabulary and grammar patterns have been useful for you when communicating with clients/partners? Do you have different strategies when communicating in writing versus when talking to a client/partner?

July 2, August 6, September 3, October 1… Details pending

Please note that advance registration is required for each session. Use the link below, selecting the desired date from the pull-down menu. If you are interested but not sure you can make it, feel free to sign up and attend if you can. Participants are also free to arrive or depart while the session is in progress. We encourage you to register now:

Translator Tuesdays restration form

Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2024, with subsequent sessions planned for the first Tuesday of the month: June 4, July 2, August 6, September 3…
Time: 8:00–9:30 p.m. JST
Moderator: Daniel Morales

Join us for a casual virtual meet-up to talk about translation: experiences, questions, reading, strategies, tools, travails, and trivia. In this 1.5-hour meeting, Richard Sadowsky will update the conversation on AI, how AI can be used as a translation support tool or how it might be taking over the translation industry. Richard will be joined by Tom Gally, translator and project professor, Center for Global Education, University of Tokyo. Bring your questions and comments.

Please note that advance registration is required (use link below). If you are interested but not sure you can make it, feel free to sign up and attend if you can. Participants are also free to arrive or depart while the session is in progress. We encourage you to register now at the link below. (Choose May 7 from the pop-up menu.)

Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024, with subsequent sessions planned for the first Tuesday of the month: April 2, May 7, June 4, July 2, August 6…
Time: 8:00-9:00 p.m. JST
Moderator: Daniel Morales

Join us for a casual virtual meet-up to talk about translation: experiences, questions, strategies, tools, travails, and trivia. 

Please note that advance registration is required (use link below). If you are interested but not sure you can make it, feel free to sign up and attend if you can. Participants are also free to arrive or depart while the session is in progress. We encourage you to register now:

https://bit.ly/SWET-Zoom-Mar-12-2024 

Leader: Ruth P. Stevens 
Date: March 29 (Fri)
Time: 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Place: Gulliver Room, Book House Café,  Kitazawa Bldg., Jimbocho. See the cafe website at http://bookhousecafe.jp/ (in Japanese) for maps. Come out from the Jimbocho subway at exit A1, turn right, and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Look for the SWET signs.
Fee: ¥500 for members; ¥1,000 for non-members. Food and drink available at the café (see the menu at the Book House Café website). 

Advance registration is required. To register, please send an email to SWET by Thursday, March 28; workshop materials will be sent to participants.

Developing a unique personal brand sets you apart from the pack, whether in your company, your field, or your private life. In this dynamic workshop, you will learn the essential steps of identifying and promoting a personal brand that is exclusively yours.

For this in-person event led by Ruth P. Stevens, a founding member of SWET and a globally recognized marketing professional and adjunct professor at NYU Stern, you will learn the three key components of developing a personal brand and the tactical options available to you to get your brand noticed among the people who count. The session will operate in table-based groups, where each participant can get feedback on a branding plan and leave the program with a tangible set of action steps.
 

Speaker: Diane Hawley Nagatomo

Moderator: Louise George Kittaka

Date: Saturday, February 24, 2024

Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon JST (Zoom opens at 9:30 a.m. for pre-meeting visiting)

Drawing on a career that spans more than 30 years in Japan, Diane Hawley Nagatomo shared her experiences with writing in three different genres and the insights she has gleaned along the way, from penning short columns for the Mainichi Weekly in the 1980s to the publication of her first work of fiction in 2023. Diane and Louise have known each other for nearly 30 years. 

Diane Hawley Nagatomo, a resident of Japan since 1979 and former professor at Ochanomizu University, has authored more than 25 EFL textbooks and two academic monographs. In recent years, she has turned to writing fiction and her debut novel, The Butterfly Café, was published in 2023. Her next novel, Finding Naomi, will be published in November 2024.  

Louise George Kittaka is a bilingual freelance writer, content developer, and cross-cultural trainer from New Zealand. She writes for various English media platforms, including the Japan Times, and has contributed to numerous EFL textbooks and study materials. She also lectures at Shirayuri Women’s University in Tokyo.

Time was set aside in the latter half of the talk for questions from participants.

View video.

Date: Saturday, December 16, 2023
Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon JST (Zoom opens at 9:30 a.m. for pre-meeting visiting)

Advance registration (required): https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqdeyqpzgjGtf1ciZoPg0yM0XQaVx_auZL

Has your workflow changed with the advent of new online tools? How did you carry on during the hottest summer in memory? What is changing recently in your niche of the wordsmithing professions? We’ll gather online to mark the end of another SWET year and share our thoughts on such questions, ask others, and catch up with each other’s doings. Please join us from wherever you are and invite your SWET friends.

Speaker: David Joiner
Moderator: Lisa Wilcut
Date: Saturday, November 18, 2023

David Joiner is the author of Lotusland (Guernica Editions, 2015), set in Vietnam, and Kanazawa (Stone Bridge Press, 2022) and The Heron Catchers (forthcoming from SBP, November 2023), both set in Japan. He majored in Japanese studies in college and earned his master's degree in fiction, nonfiction, and playwriting. He served as a volunteer teacher in Vietnam in 1994 and again in 1997 and has spent a total of 12 years living in various parts of Vietnam over the past 29 years. He has lived in various places in Japan as well and is currently settled in Kanazawa.

He has spoken frequently about his fiction (see his website) and writing in general and in this talk will focus on how he decides to portray “place” in his novels, his process of writing scenes where setting plays an important role, and how living in Vietnam and in Japan has influenced his worldview and writing.

Friday, September 15, 2023 (Japan); Thursday, September 14 (North America)
Hosts: Ruth Stevens and Lynne E. Riggs

Time: 9:00 a.m.–11:00 JST; 8:00 p.m. EDT; 5:00 p.m. PDT
Advance registration (required): https://bit.ly/3LbPkvH 

How did a young person in 1970s or 1980s Japan find work as an editor, writer, or translator? What did they learn on the job? Who were their bosses? Who were their friends and mentors? What do they remember from those days?
Quite a few SWET members, now veterans in their professions, got their start 50 or more years ago as fledgling editors in English-language book-publishing houses based in Tokyo. They lived in Shōwa-era tatami-mat rooms, used typewriters, faxes, and red pens, and learned how to acquire manuscripts, choose fonts, design page-layout, copyedit, and compose indexes. Who are these people, and where are they now?
We’ve put out the call and made a date to catch up with each other. Please join us on Zoom for an hour or so of conversation. Participants from all eras are welcome. Looking forward to seeing you and hearing what you’re up to after so many years.

Speaker: Dr. Peter Yanase, project researcher, Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Nabunken)
Date: Saturday, July 22, 2023
Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon JST (Zoom opens at 9:30 for pre-meeting visiting)
Advance registration (required): https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIoduihqj0uEtbJIPsPuiEeUGae0C8egZtm

A Japanologist with particular interest in philosophy of science, Peter Yanase has been working at Nabunken since June 2019. He develops English texts for museums and multilingual information retrieval solutions for archaeological data. 

Yanase will talk about a Nabunken-organized training session held in March 2023, which was attended by more than 70 museum curators and others in charge of producing multilingual texts on cultural heritage at organizations around Japan. He will also mention his approach to “translation,” which is often more like creative rewriting, and his efforts to cope with “translation politics.” He is keenly interested in what could be automated in translation work relating to cultural properties. Regarding the latter, he is interested in hearing what problems/challenges that have not already been addressed professionals would like to tackle using the technology available.

Date: Saturday, August 19, 2023
Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon JST (Zoom opens at 9:30 for pre-meeting visiting)
Speakers: Any participants who care to share
Advance registration (required): https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0scO2tqzstH9Lpnvs-CwVn_8m2kSXC4-tN

As we leave the pandemic, tourism surges ahead and projects gain momentum. Clients with little experience putting out their messages in English are everywhere, and wordsmiths are busy, busy. Gaps in understanding basic editing and translation terminology can be a source of woe on both sides. (See the recently posted column, “No More Kōsei Trauma: A Japan Wordsmith’s Glossary”). Client-side lack of familiarity with English typesetting and layout/design is a perennial pitfall, whatever the genre. Over-optimism about scheduling and funding is frequent.

How do wordsmiths educate their customers for optimal results, satisfying clients and ensuring they can provide professional services? What do we do when the situation is over our heads? What are some of the blank spots in client preparations we can help to fill? Veterans and newcomers are encouraged to share their stories and best practices, and we hope to condense and record them for posterity in the SWET website archive.

Date: Saturday, June 17, 2023
Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon JST
Speakers: Any participants who care to share
Advance registration (required): https://bit.ly/SWET-Jun-17-2023

How has COVID impacted you personally and professionally? Haven’t been on a train in three years? Moved to the countryside? Missing casual conversations with colleagues, face to face meetings with clients, and the razzle-dazzle of the city? More time to work; more communication glitches . . .
Join the session and raise your virtual hand when you’re ready to share the highs and lows of your pandemic experience, whether professional or personal. 

with Claire Maree and Tanomi
Moderator: Emily Balistrieri (he/him)
Date: Saturday, May 13, 2023
Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon JST

Audio link: On SWET's YouTube Channel

Linguistic practices are evolving quickly as transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people around the world fight for rights and basic respect. What does good gender-inclusive English look like? What is gendered language like in Japanese? These are some of the questions we will discuss, tapping into the expertise of Professor Claire Maree, researcher and specialist in everyday language practices relating to gender and sexuality, and Japanese trans rights activist and neuroscience researcher Tanomi. We will share specific models to refer to and experiences to consider.

Speaker Profiles

Claire Maree (her) is Professor in Japanese at the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne and President of the International Gender and Language Association. Claire completed master's (1997) and doctoral (2002) degrees at the University of Tokyo, and taught Japanese linguistics, multicultural studies and gender/sexuality studies at Toyo University (2001-2004) and Tsuda University (2004–2010) before taking up her current position. With extensive experience in the study of contemporary Japanese culture and society, Claire is actively involved in queer studies and qualitative approaches to language, gender and sexuality. Her key expertise lies in linguistic analysis of identity and the mediatisation of language styles. The key themes of her current research are (a) the reproduction, negotiation and contestation of identities in language, and (b) the interconnection of gender and sexuality in everyday language practices.

Tanomi (he/him/彼男) is a community organizer and neuroscience PhD student at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, studying how testosterone HRT affects ADHD-like traits in rats with ovaries. With a handful of other queer activists, he organizes a quasi-monthly demonstration in Tokyo called Arienai Demo, where people gather to protest the transphobic laws and practices that violate gender autonomy in Japan (including the invasive legal transition requirements of the so-called Seidōissei Shōgai Tokureihō or “Gender Identity Disorder Special Cases Act”). Arienai Demo strives to be an accessible, welcoming space for people with diverse intersecting identities to express their dissent. Tanomi has advocated for the use of the masculine neo-pronoun kanodan (彼男) to challenge the male centricity inherent in the use of kare (his/him) as a masculine pronoun in modern Japanese.

Moderator: Richard Sadowsky

Date: Sunday, April 23, 2023

Recent technological advances, such as AI-driven ChatGPT, are much in the news, and as professional wordsmiths, we need to get a handle on these tools or risk getting left behind. This Talk Shop is for participants to ask questions and share experiences about the use of MT and AI tools. The discussion should help us get a better grasp—at least at this point—of what people are calling a “complete game-changer”—which might mean that we no longer get the same type of work or that we must adapt and change how we work in key ways.

Date: Saturday, March 25, 2023
 

Neither rain, nor late-March chill, nor long distances willl dampen this online SWET hanami! Tune into this Talk Shop from under a blooming tree near you, from your desk or smartphone with a Zoom background of blooms or, if you are in the Southern Hemisphere, autumn colors, or even with a sprig on your desk. Join solo, with your partner, your children, your cat or dog or parrot, your cup of “spring water.” Brought together by the flowers (or the colors of fall), let’s talk of many things, hear from many people, and revel in the camaraderie of off-work wordsmiths. 

Also, the SWET website will feature a special “Hanami” album. Please send your photos (with caption), stories, poems, or limericks to SWET. Contributions received between March 15 and April 15 will be included. 

With Daniel Morales and Jennifer O’Donnell

Date: Saturday, February 25, 2023

Jennifer O’Donnell and Daniel Morales have 7+ blogs and 3+ podcasts between themselves, in addition to years of experience writing and translating. They discussed the strategies that have helped them maintain their blogs/podcasts over the years (including putting down the unsuccessful blogs), which platforms are reliable, and what if any benefits their blogs have had on their professional careers.

Watch here:

https://youtu.be/0Fw2V33nd1A

Date: Saturday, December 10, 2022
Time: 10:00–12:00 noon (meeting open from 9:30)

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUqduCppjwoGNJuDJ5jLBn8RWi6UOO-GFLS

We’ll wrap up our 42nd SWET year with a casual drop-in-and-visit online meet-up. We hope you’ll join us during this two-hour Zoom to hear what other members are doing, ask questions, suggest topics for 2023 events and activities, and introduce yourself if you are new to the organization.

We'll start the event with a quick icebreaker: In 30 seconds, tell us about the very first writing/editing/translating job you did and then the most recent writing/editing/translating job you did. For aspiring writers/editors/translators, tell us about your areas of interest. We'll cycle through smaller breakout rooms to allow for discussion and bring the group back together to finish. We look forward to seeing you there!

Date: Friday, December 9, 2022
Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Place: Second-floor Parlor (Osetsu-ma), Book House Café, Kitazawa Bldg., Jimbocho. Website: http://bookhousecafe.jp/ (in Japanese)
See website for maps. Come out from the Jimbocho subway at exit A1, turn right, and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Look for the SWET signs.
Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the café (see the menu at the Book House Café website). 

RSVP: If you plan to attend, please drop us a line at SWET Events. to reserve your place. Note that space is limited.
As a courtesy to other attendees, we ask you to be masked except when eating or drinking and to refrain from speaking while unmasked.

This will be our first non-virtual gathering since February 2020. We’ll be at our old haunt at Book House Café in Jinbocho, where we used to meet before the world turned upside down on us. We may have some special guests, but this will be above all a welcome chance to get together, talk, check in, share news good and bad, and see each other in person. And if you are not in the Tokyo area or prefer to meet online, please see our plan for casual catching up via Zoom on December 10th.

Speaker: Karen Hill Anton
Moderator: Lynne E. Riggs
Date: Sunday, October 30, 2022
Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon JST
The meeting opens at 9:30 a.m. for networking; discussion from 10:00, followed by Q&A.
Advance registration is required: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUsf-6prT0vEtHuAw_rE6MDOOujma_u-2rR

Suppose you want to write a memoir for a wide readership, as our speaker has done. Where do you start and how do you prepare? What are the qualities of a really good memoir beyond the story of a long and full life?

In the first hour, we will ask Karen Hill Anton about the resources she collected, advice she received, and decisions she made over the years leading up to the writing of her memoir and what we can learn from her experience that we can apply to any attempt we ourselves might make.   

Karen Hill Anton is a columnist, teacher, and author. Her memoir, The View from Breast Pocket Mountain, published in September 2020, is the recipient of the Memoir Magazine Grand Prize 2022, the SPR Award Gold Prize 2021, and the B.R.A.G  Medallion 2020. She presented seminars on memoir writing at the Japan Writers Conference 2020 and 2021. Her novel A Thousand Graces comes out in January 2023. Karen has made her home in rural Shizuoka since 1975. Her talk with SWET about her memoir is available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76mbucv69F4.

With Wendy Uchimura and Alison Watts
Moderator: Marian Kinoshita

Date: September 18, 2022 (Sunday)

Books about contemporary handicrafts and hobbies—sashiko, embroidery, dressmaking, painting, etc.—as distinct from traditional crafts and artistic craftsmanship, are being translated and sold successfully in Anglophone markets. What are the special challenges of this niche of the translation industry? How does it differ from other genres of translation? How to find/work with publishers? How to deal with specialized terminology? We have two seasoned specialists to enlighten us about this fascinating field.

Alison Watts is a sashiko enthusiast based in Ibaraki prefecture who has translated Sashiko for Making and Mending by Saki Iiduka (Tuttle Publishing) and is currently working on another to be entitled Amazing Sashiko. She blogs on the subject on her website.

Wendy Uchimura, based in Yorkshire, UK, has translated a number of books on handicrafts, ranging from wazakka to needle-felting, including the following:
Modern Japanese Crochet: Classic Stitches Made Easy from Nihon Vogue (Tuttle Publishing)
Modern Japanese Painting Techniques (Tuttle Publishing)

Moderating the discussion is Marian Kinoshita, professional translator whose experience ranges from semiconductors to advertising and everything in between, with a special love for tenugui.

View video: https://youtu.be/GHhGRgkqVLs

Louise Cort with Alice and Halsey North
Moderator: Zackary Kaplan

Date: Saturday, July 30, 2022 (JST)
Time: 8:00–10:00 a.m. JST; July 29, 2022; 7:00 p.m. EDT

Speaking from the U.S. East Coast, SWET member Louise Cort introduced her friends and colleagues Alice and Halsey North, who are pioneering collectors and patrons of contemporary Japanese ceramics. The three, who have been writing about and connecting with makers of Japanese ceramics for decades, recently published Listening to Clay: Conversations with Contemporary Japanese Ceramic Artists.

SWET members asked the authors to elaborate on their experiences introducing Japanese ceramic artists to North American audiences, and share their stories and insights on how collaboration via the Internet could be achieved despite the restrictions of the pandemic.

Alice and Halsey North are leading collectors and patrons of contemporary Japanese ceramics. Since 1994, they have worked with curators from the National Museum of Asian Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston to research, document, and contextualize their collection. A primary focus of their collecting and advocacy has been to introduce new audiences to this art form. They have donated ceramics from their collection to numerous museums, notably the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met also houses the database, archives, and library for their collection.

Louise Allison Cort is Curator Emerita of Ceramics, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution. Her research interests are historical and contemporary ceramics in Japan, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Her publications include Shigaraki, Potters’ Valley (1979, reprinted in 2000), Isamu Noguchi and Modern Japanese Ceramics: A Close Embrace of the Earth (with Bert Winther-Tamaki, 2003), and Chigasu and the Art of Tea (with Andrea Watsky, 2014). In 2012, she received the Secretary’s Distinguished Scholar Award, Smithsonian Institution, and the Koyama Fujio Memorial Price for research on historical and contemporary Japanese ceramics.

“Donald Keene: 100th Anniversary Exhibition—A Lifelong Pursuit of Japanese Culture,”  Kanagawa Museum of Japanese Literature special exhibition, May 28–July 24, 2022 (in Japanese)

Date: July 21, 2022 (Thursday)
Meet-up Time:  4:30 p.m. meet-up outside (weather permitting; contact organizers for questions)
Place: In park outside Museum or location to be decided. Contact organizer at info@swet.jp

The Kanagawa Museum of Japanese Literature in Yokohama is currently featuring “Donald Keene: 100th Anniversary Exhibition—A Lifelong Pursuit of Japanese Culture” (May 28–July 24, in Japanese). The Museum is located up on the Bluff above the Motomachi-Chukagai stop on the Minato Mirai line (elevator for part of the climb) in Yokohama.

After viewing the exhibit to learn more about Japanologist and pioneer wordsmith Donald Keene, take advantage of the chance to meet up with other SWET members in the evening cool. Those who want to join the meet-up should contact SWET in advance or on the day for the contact phone number and meeting place at SWET.

Sunday, June 19, 2022
Time: 10:00–12:00 a.m. JST (virtual doors open at 9:30)
Join us for a good, old-fashioned (but online) kōryūkai for editors. We’ll mimic a live event with a virtual meishi exchange board and several rounds of small-group conversations. Goals: connect with editors in your geographical area(s) and area of specialty, with whom you might share work/and or clients, and with whom you might partner as a second set of eyes, so to speak.
Register here:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMlf-yhqjMsH9XllA9TeXEwyO46Bhe3RwRz
 

Sunday, May 22, 2022
Time: 10:00–11:00 a.m. JST

Calling all professional editors and would-be editors and who want to share, learn, commiserate, or otherwise come together and help each other work through a wide range of editing issues. Let’s get together to talk about what those issues will be and how we can address them by organizing Zoom sessions or other activities. This initial meeting is to gauge the breadth and depth of interest, which seemed considerable when the topic came up during a Talk Shop event a few months back.

To attend, please join at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86822480116?pwd=dEFpS3FPY2YwWUpCYXg3K0J6cDdLUT09

Journalism in Writing, Audio, and Drawings with Hannah Kirshner
Moderator: Zackary Kaplan

Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022
Discussion, followed by Q&A

A wonderful conversation with Hannah Kirshner, the author of Water, Wood, and Wild Things, was held to discuss her book—a captivating written and illustrated account of craft, cultivation, and tradition seen through the lives of the people of Yamanaka, Ishikawa prefecture. The book will be celebrating its first anniversary of publication from Viking Press, and came out in paperback March 29. Kirshner talked about the behind-the-scenes process of pitching the book and tying together interviews, research, recipes, and illustrations for the final publication, among many other topics. She spoke about her freelance work, including writing for the New York Times and her recent entry into the world of audio journalism as both a writer and producer.

Hannah Kirshner is a writer, artist, and food stylist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, Saveur, Taste, Food52, Roads & Kingdoms, and Atlas Obscura, among others. She is the author of Water, Wood, and Wild Things. Kirshner grew up on a small farm outside Seattle, and studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design. She divides her time between Brooklyn and rural Ishikawa prefecture, Japan.

Zackary Kaplan is a freelance translator based in Niigata prefecture. He specializes in art, traditional crafts, and cuisine. He also engages in creative consulting for local businesses in Niigata.

Watch video:
https://youtu.be/HTWVrAhHmqE

A Conversation with Rebekah Harmon and Lynne E. Riggs

Date: Saturday, February 26, 2022

Translator and editor, formerly for institutions under MEXT and METI and now freelance, Rebekah Harmon joins veteran translator and editor Lynne E. Riggs to talk about ways the professional know-how of editors and J-to-E translators can be accessed and better shared (e.g., via style guides, such as the upcoming National Institutes for Cultural Heritage (NICH) style manual and the JTA FY2021 Writing and Style Manual); creating “analogous” rather than “accurate” translations; helping clients with design and layout challenges, and more. The second hour features Q&A and discussion with participants.

Open SWET! Launching 2022
Date: January 22, 2022 (Sat.)
Time: 10:00 a.m. JST (meeting opens at 9:30 a.m.)
Self-introductions from 10:00; series of break-out sessions from 10:30 to 11:30 [?].
Advance registration is required; see the link below.

Let’s get together in the New Year for an online Shinnenkai! We’ll introduce ourselves, catch up with old friends, ask questions, and brainstorm for SWET activities in the new year. Breakout rooms will be set up from 10:30 for small-group talk.

Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAocu6gqDsuHdIsikwdgAzcXhNvrVBoxKK5

Speakers: Emily Balistrieri, Winnie Bird, Susan Jones, Avery Udagawa, and Lisa Wilcut

Saturday, November 27, 2021, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon JST
Friday, November 26, 8:00–10:00 p.m. EST

In the first hour, five members of the SWET Steering Committee—whose work straddles writing, editing, translating, and teaching—talked about their work and current projects. They shared experiences with new tools and technologies they've encountered. And discussed some plans for future SWET activities and initiatives.

Some of the matters on on the agenda were: 1) how we can better cope with the pressures we are under; 2) what useful tools and technologies are really helpful to us; 3) how SWET can help to support our professional endeavors; and 4) how SWET can better reach out to the next generation of wordsmiths.

Watch the video:

https://youtu.be/RiDrBbjH39M

Links from the event:

Emily Balistrieri: Three Translators of Pop Culture    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf35MhA5WrQ; SNS - twitter.com/tiger

Winifred Bird, Eating Wild Japan https://www.stonebridge.com/catalog-2020/Eating-Wild-Japan

  Reference: Society of Environmental Journalists program http://www.sej.org/initiatives/mentor-program/overview

Susan Jones: lecture on machine translation:

   Reference: https://onlineteachingjapan.com/zoom-meetings/machine-translation-here-to-stay/

Avery Fischer Udagawa, active in Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators:      https://translation.scbwi.org/   

Recent translation published: Temple Alley Summer by Sachiko Kashiwaba, illustrated by Miho Satake: https://restlessbooks.org/bookstore/temple-alley-summer

Lisa Wilcut

Edits for Asahi Press (monthly CNN English Express), copyedits for Japan Library

Translations include The Arts and Ethics of Zen Temples (10-volume series), The Kidai Shōran website

Scroll https://nihonbashi-info.tokyo/kidaishoran/, and – Akira ga akete-ageu kara, a children’s book to be released in 2023

Creative writing: https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2021/09/tw-creatives-the-boy-i-met-on-a-plane-short-story-lisa-wilcut/

Teaches courses in philosophy and Japanese society and culture for University of Maryland Global Campus

Moderator: Lisa Wilcut

Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021 (JST); Friday, October 22, in North America
Time: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 noon JST; 6:00–8:00 p.m. PDT
The meeting opens at 9:30 a.m. JST for networking; discussion from 10:00, followed by Q&A.
Advance registration required: see link below

Diane Durston is a writer, lecturer, cultural consultant, and educator, who lived for 18 years in Japan. She is the author of three books and numerous essays and articles on the culture and traditional way of life in Kyoto. Her book Old Kyoto is now in a second edition and 18th printing. The New York Times has referred to it as a “Japan travel classic.” Her other books include Kyoto: Seven Paths to the Heart of the City, an introduction to historic preservation districts in Kyoto. She has also contributed essays to the Encyclopedia of Japan, Japan, The Cycle of Life, and the Japan Crafts Sourcebook. Her most recent book, Wabi Sabi: The Art of Everyday Life was published in 2006.

Durston has worked extensively as a cultural consultant, and has developed on-site cultural programs in Japan introducing Japanese art, culture, religion, history, and gardens for such organizations as the National Gallery of Art, the Whitney Museum, the Yale Galleries, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has served as Director of Special Projects and later Curator of Education at the Portland Art Museum. She served as Director of Special Projects and later Curator of Education at the Portland Art Museum for five years.

As the Arlene Schnitzer Curator of Culture, Art & Education at the Portland Japanese Garden from 2007 to 2019, Durston curated over 20 exhibitions of Japanese art and craft, and was instrumental in expanding the Garden’s reputation as a center of cultural learning, laying the groundwork for the Garden’s new International Institute for Garden Arts and Culture. As Curator Emerita, she occasionally edits manuscripts for Japanese authors and continues to pursue her own personal writing projects from her home in Portland, Oregon.

Lisa Wilcut is a freelance writer, editor, and translator based in Yokohama. She edits for Japan Library, writes and edits for the Japan Tourism Agency, and works on projects in the Japanese cultural sphere from art and poetry to history and religion. She is also an educator, teaching classes in philosophy, Asian studies, and Japanese culture at the University Of Maryland Global Campus in Yokosuka.

Moderator: Suzanne Kamata

Since arriving in Japan in 1975, Karen Hill Anton has raised four children, taught modern dance, written popular long-running columns for the Japan Times and Chunichi Shimbun, achieved second-degree mastery in Japanese calligraphy, and served on various private and government councils. As a consultant since 2000, she designed and managed employee development programs for global corporations in Japan. Her award-winning memoir The View from Breast Pocket Mountain, published in September 2020, tells the story of her early life in New York City, the world-straddling adventures that brought her to Japan, and recounts her experience living in rural Shizuoka Prefecture where she continues to make her home. She is currently finishing a novel.

Suzanne Kamata has been living and writing in Tokushima Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, since 1988. She has written and/or edited fourteen published books including the anthology The Broken Bridge: Fiction from Expatriates in Literary Japan (Stone Bridge Press, 1997), the multiple-award-winning memoir Squeaky Wheels: Travels with My Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2019), and the novel The Baseball Widow (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2021). She is an associate professor in Global Studies at Naruto University of Education.

Watch video of Zoom talk: https://youtu.be/76mbucv69F4

SWET Talk Shop in conversation with Emily Balistrieri, Susan Jones, and SWET members
Held on July 30, 2021

Bristol-based writer and translator Polly Barton discusses her debut book Fifty Sounds, a personal dictionary of the Japanese language, which was published in the UK by Fitzcarraldo Editions this past April, after she won the Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize in 2019. Expect some Wittgenstein!

Barton’s translations have featured in Granta, Catapult, The White Review, and Words Without Borders and her full-length translations include Spring Garden by Tomoka Shibasaki (Pushkin Press), Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda (Tilted Axis Press/Soft Skull) [shortlisted for the Ray Bradbury Prize], and There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura (Bloomsbury). Fifty Sounds is already available as an ebook and will be published by Liveright in the US early next year.

専門用語をどう英訳したか: 紅ミュージアムの例

SWET/CoJ Talk Shop via Zoom
With Shimada Miki and Yagihara Mika (Beni Museum) and Lynne Riggs and Julie Kuma (Center for Intercultural Communication)

Moderator: Iwaseki Tomoko and Sakai Motoki (The Creation of Japan/CoJ)

Language: This event was held in Japanese
Date: June 24 (Thurs.), 2021
Time: 10:00–12:00 JST
Round table first hour; Q&A second hour

Specially planned to respond to the needs of local stakeholders and craft organization promoters, this event was held in Japanese.

How do Japanese-to-English translators and editors present information about Japanese culture—especially when it is very specialized—in an easily understandable, accessible fashion? The experience of translating the catalog for the collection of the Beni Museum in Minami Aoyama, Tokyo in 2020 will give a glimpse of the kinds of problems faced and how they were resolved. The museum introduces the traditional manufacture of rouge from beni (safflower) petals and the history of Japanese makeup/cosmetics from antiquity to the postwar era, along with the culture of the times, the containers used, and the way they were advertised. The catalog includes a detailed list of the 400-some works in the collection.

Shimada and Yanagihara will answer questions about how they worked to enhance the translation and then to edit and proofread their text. Kuma and Riggs will share their perspective as translation-revision and editorial advisors. We hope this look at a specific experience will encourage participants to introduce examples from their own work and specialties and share their questions about dealing with difficult-to-transmit language.

Copies of the Beni Museum catalog are available at the museum.

Janine Beichman, in conversation with Spencer Thurlow

Date: Sunday, July 11, 2021; Saturday, July 10 in North America

Poet and translator Spencer Thurlow reached around the globe from the U.S. East Coast to discuss translating Japanese poetry with Janine Beichman, based in Tsukuba, Ibaraki. Beichman’s most recent publication is Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku (Meiku no yuen) by prominent haiku poet and critic Ozawa Minoru.

Well-Versed is a 350-page-plus publication that came out this spring as part of the Japan Library series and is a rare English-language look at haiku from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of our own twenty-first century. Beichman's excellent translations of both the poems and Ozawa’s commentary on each one give insight into the workings of haiku and the history and development of modern haiku in Japan.

After hearing some poems from Well-Versed, Thurlow discusses aspects of the work with Beichman as well as the translation process, publication, and the world of haiku.

Beichman is author of “Through a Glass Darkly: Is Translating Poetry Possible?,” an article published in the SWET Newsletter, No. 118 (December 2007), available to members in the SWET Archive (must be signed into the site) and in Readings on Japanese-to-English Translation.

Watch video at:
https://youtu.be/eUlTSid7xSE

SWET Talk Shop via Zoom
With Winifred Bird
Moderator: Jeanette Fukao

Date: May 23 (Sun.), 2021

Writer, editor, and translator Winnie Bird, currently based in Illinois, talks about her book, Eating Wild Japan, published by Stone Bridge Press. Including a slide show of the plants, dishes she has made, and other images, she talks about the technical aspects of creating the book, from the research phase to the writing, publishing and promotion, and also gives us some insights for our better appreciation of these plants.

Interviewer Jeanette Fukao, artist, poet, writer, teacher based in Shiga prefecture brings her fascination with the plants of Japan and the inspiration they provide to her questions for Winnie.

View video of the event:
https://youtu.be/Vff0Dh42RkI

SWET Talk Shop via Zoom on a weekday

With Andrew Maerkle
Moderator: Alan Gleason

Date: April 26 (Mon.), 2021
Time: 10:00–12:00 JST (meeting opens at 9:30 a.m.)

Andrew Maerkle is an editor, writer, and translator based in Tokyo who served as the founding editorial director of translations for Bunka-cho Art Platform Japan, an initiative of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. The first translations, which seek to introduce important texts from Japanese modern and contemporary art history, are now available for reading on the "Resources” section of the initiative’s newly launched website. Maerkle introduces the Bunka-cho Art Platform Japan initiative, shares his breakdown of the demands of art criticism translation, and discusses some of the challenges of editing translations, shepherding collaboration, and working with a government-funded project.

Our moderator: Alan Gleason, SWET stalwart, veteran editor and translator, and managing editor of Artscape Japan, a monthly e-zine on artists and the art scene in Japan.

With Lynne Riggs, Meg Taylor, and Lisa Wilcut
Moderator: Susan Jones

Date: March 21, 2021
Time: 10:00–12:00 JST

What did we learn from our experience editing and copyediting for the “Promoting Multilingual Support for Sightseeing Destinations around Japan” (JTA-Toppan Signage) Project? Year Three of this epochal effort to improve tourism texts for sites all over Japan is coming to a close. Numerous editors, writers, and media company project directors toiled over the writing, editing, and polishing of texts for signs, websites, pamphlets, audio guides, and other media over three years from 2018 to 2020. At this SWET Talk Shop, three editors who served on the supervisory copyediting team for the project led a discussion of topics such as the following:

• Writing strategies for Japan-related material (order-of-the-content issues; use of Japanese terms, handling the history, etc.)
• The sensibilities and priorities of clients/stakeholders
• Translation strengths and interferences
• Making the unfamiliar accessible
• Orienting the reader in time and space

View video of the event:
https://youtu.be/QAnoA88O_cI

Open SWET! Launching 2021

(meeting opens at 9:30 a.m.)

Join us when you have time on Sunday morning JST (Feb. 21) for a chance to introduce yourself, catch up with old friends, ask questions, and brainstorm for SWET activities in 2021. Breakout rooms will be set up for small-group talk. 

Note: If your device takes you to the meeting directly asking for a meeting passcode, please click on the link on a computer to get the registration page.

Moderated by Richard Medhurst

Date: October 14, 2020 (Wed.)
Time: 8:30 p.m. JST (40 minutes)

Eight people have already registered for this event. 

As an experiment with a shorter video chat format, SWET will hold a 40-minute Zoom session to discuss Japanese-to-English translation of a text. While staying close to the Japanese content, participants should imagine they are writing for readers who will only see their version and will judge it as an English text. This will set things up for a lively discussion on approaches to translation.

Those accepted for the workshop will be sent a short extract (under 500 characters) from a news item looking back at the 1918 flu pandemic in Japan to prepare in advance. 

Only those accepted will be contacted. To ensure the limited places are taken by active participants, please sign up only if you intend to do the translation. If you sign up, but are unexpectedly unable to attend, please contact us (SWET), so we can offer your place to someone else.

Sign up for the workshop by registering for the Zoom meeting at the URL above. 

Publishing Books on Japan: 45 Years and Still Trying to Get It Right
Peter Goodman, Stone Bridge Press

Interviewer: Beth Cary
Date: December 5, 2020 (Saturday)/US time December 4, 2020 (Friday)
Time: 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. JST (main talk starts at JST 12:00 noon; US EST 10:00 p.m.; US PST 7:00 p.m.)

Peter Goodman discusses what he learned in his early editing experience, which has stood the test of time and changing technology; how he has maneuvered through the shifting grounds of the publishing industry during the past three decades, as it lurched into the twenty-first century; and what he sees as the future of publishing, especially as it relates to independent publishers and opportunities for self-publishing. These are of particular import for books and translations on Japan as they seek to find their audience.

Our speaker, Stone Bridge Press president and publisher Peter Goodman, is a graduate of Cornell University. He lived in Tokyo for nine years, where he worked as an editor for English-language publishers Charles E. Tuttle and Kodansha International before returning to the United States in 1985. Peter established Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley in 1989. He has served as in-house editor, ghostwriter, translator, and project manager on nearly 400 Japan- and Asia-related titles. Distributed by Consortium Book Sales, Stone Bridge exemplifies the small and independent press with access to a national market. Peter concluded his term as Board Chair of IBPA, the Independent Book Publishers Association in 2017, and until recently hosted the IBPA-sponsored podcast “Inside Independent Publishing,” which can be found at:  https://insideindependentpublishingwithibpa.simplecast.fm/.

Interviewer Beth Cary is a translator and interpreter in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has edited several of Stone Bridge Press’s books, mostly related to films and animation. Along with Peter, she is part of the SWET outpost in Northern California.

Watch video here: https://youtu.be/9c7Dx3tQjaU

Three Teachers of Translation
Guests: Judy Wakabayashi, Susan Jones, and Lynne Riggs

Time: 9:30 a.m.–12:00 noon JST (main talk starts at 10:00; October 24 9:00 p.m. EDT)

Note: The meeting will not be available in video recording, but a detailed write-up with visuals will be prepared as soon as possible.

Three experienced teachers of translation will share their experiences and perspectives on teaching Japanese-to-English translation. The discussion will range widely over questions such as intake-level requirements; what competencies are taught; useful approaches to training; how to help students start thinking like a translator (including the role of translation theory); product vs process; the importance of and methods for feedback (from instructor and peers); the role of technology (as a translation tool and teaching tool); the end goal(s); and some useful resources and reading suggestions.

Judy Wakabayashi is professor of Japanese Translation at Kent State University in Ohio. After translating in-house and freelance, she received her Ph.D. from the University of Queensland and taught translation at the graduate level there until taking up her current position. She teaches the introductory MA-level courses in Japanese–English translation and translation theory as well as more specialized courses in scientific-technical-medical translation, legal and commercial translation, and literary and cultural translation, as well as a doctoral course in translation histories. Her textbook, Japanese-English Translation: An Advanced Guide (Routledge), has just been published.

Susan Jones is a professional translator and full-time instructor of translation at Kobe College. She completed the East Asian Studies MA program at Washington University in St. Louis in 1995, and she gradually moved from in-house and freelance translation to teaching over the past two decades. See the report of her talk to SWET in 2016.

Lynne E. Riggs is a professional translator and editor and former instructor of Japanese-to-English translation practice at International Christian University (2000–2015). Her anthology of articles on J-to-E translation, Readings on Japanese-to-English Translation, can be obtained by writing to info@swet.jp.

Founding Members Recall and Reflect
Guests: Peter Goodman, John and Ruth McCreery, Susan Murata, Pamela Pasti, Nina Raj, Lynne Riggs, Susie Schmidt, Mark Schreiber, Ruth Stevens, Meg Taylor, Fred Uleman, and Jillian Yorke
Time: Nov. 15 (Sun.) 9:30 a.m.–12:00 noon JST (main talk starts at 10:00; Nov. 14 (Sat.), 8:00 pm US EST; 5:00 pm PST)
Register in advance for this meeting:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqdOugrDwpGtPwAxIct5tswU5QrGaMPmxH

Founding members of SWET will be on hand to celebrate our 40 years, tell us what they are doing now, why they are still members (or not), how their professions have changed over the years, and how SWET figured in their lives. After brief remarks by the members of the panel, the meeting will open for questions and answers. The event is still being planned; please watch this space for updates.

Peter Goodman, editor at Tuttle (1976–1979), editor at Kodansha International (1979–1985); owner and publisher of Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley, CA (1989–present)

John and Ruth McCreery, translators, editors, and founders of The Word Works (since 1984)

Susan Murata, in 1980, copywriting and translation assistant, Obun Intereurope, Inc.; Riken translation team (2003–2018); freelance translator, Nagano prefecture

Pamela Pasti, first career in publishing including 8 years in Tokyo (1977–1985; Weatherhill, 1981-1984); second career as attorney (1995–present), currently Morrison & Foerster

Nina Raj, editor at John Weatherhill (1972–1975), editor at University of Tokyo Press (1975–1995); translation rights licensing at Japan Uni Agency, Tokyo

Lynne E. Riggs, translator and editor, Center for Social Science Communication (1976–1990); Center for Intercultural Communications (1990-present); managing editor, Monumenta Nipponica (1997–2009), Tokyo

Susie Schmidt, editor at Tuttle (1972-1974), editor at University of Tokyo Press (1976–1996); executive director, American Association of Teachers of Japanese, Boulder, CO

Mark Schreiber, since 1976, writer, translator, and newspaper columnist, Tokyo

Ruth Stevens, editor at Weatherhill (1980–1983); New York City-based consultant on B2B marketing, adjunct professor of marketing at NYU Stern, and author of three business books

Meg Taylor, editor at Weatherhill (1979–1981); currently managing editor, Monkey New Writing from Japan; academic coordinator, Ryerson University Publishing Certificate program; editor specializing in art books and exhibition catalogues.

Fred Uleman, an independent J-E translator for over 50 years, he is currently working as "retired."

Jillian Yorke, editor and researcher for the International Golf Research Institute (1980–1997), English checker, Public Relations Office, METI (1999–2010); currently translator, editor, writer, and editorial committee member, Japan Spotlight.

Time: 9:30 a.m.–12:00 noon JST (main talk starts at 10:00)

Read the write-up of this event:
https://swet.jp/members/article/manga_lettering_and_translation

Manga do not go far in English without the profession and passions of the letterers who add the translated text to the art, but how many people in this profession can you name? Manga lettering aficionado Aidan Clarke is our guest moderator speaking with three of these unsung heroes of manga translation to hear about the unique challenges they face and how they fit into the localization process. The questions will focus especially on asking what translators can do to make letterers’ lives easier and what the ideal translator-letterer relationship would look like.

Brandon Bovia is a freelance manga letterer and illustrator. Lettered works include Akira Toriyama and Toyotaro’s Dragon Ball Super, Masumi Kaneda and Ban Magami’s Transformers: The Manga, and Sorata Akizuki’s Snow White with the Red Hair.

Phil Christie is a freelance letterer based in Japan. He started lettering in 2014 and has worked on various titles such as Yuji Iwahara’s Dimension W, Atsuo Ueda and Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest, Akira Hiramoto’s RaW Hero and Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs by Tadahiro Miura.

Sara Linsley is a freelance manga letterer and software developer living in Brooklyn. She has been lettering manga since 2013, and she worked on series such as Yū Watase’s Fushigi Yūgi: Byakko Senki, Anashin’s Waiting for Spring, Ayu Watanabe’s LDK, and Kintetsu Yamada’s Sweat and Soap.

Three Translators of Kansai
Guests: Stuart Ayre, Catherine Nakamichi, and Eleanor Yamaguchi
Moderator: Larry Walker
Time: 9:30 a.m.–12:00 noon JST
 

Our September SWET Talk Shop Online was organized by SWET members based in Kyoto. Twenty-minute interviews with each guest speaker, moderated by Larry Walker, were followed by Q&A and discussion among all present.

View video of the event:
[url=https://youtu.be/Zy7DTYlQR44]https://youtu.be/Zy7DTYlQR44[/url]
 

Stuart Ayre is a Japanese-to-English legal translator based in Kyoto. Originally a technical translator at Toyota, he switched to legal translation back in 2013 and worked in-house for a law firm in Tokyo for several years. He now works freelance, translating mainly court documents and contracts. He is also known for his wide-ranging illustration work.

In response to questions during the meeting, Stuart recommended the following reference works for legal translation:

1. A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting by Ken Adams
(Kindle version available):
https://www.adamsdrafting.com/writing/mscd/

2. Dictionary of Legal Usage by Bryan Garner
(I use this almost every day. Most (all?) books authored by him are superb.)
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/garners-dictionary-of-legal-usage-9780195384208?cc=jp&lang=en&

3. Basics of English Contracts by Junji Miyano and Emiko Iizumi
(To gain insights into English contract drafting from a native-Japanese-speaker perspective):
https://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/f/dsg-01-9784789009041

Catherine Nakamichi specializes in Japanese-to-English translation in the fields of technology, health and medical issues, education and academia, retail and marketing, art and handicrafts, sport and cultural festivals, hospitality, and tourism through her company, Catlingual, founded in 2006. She is an active member of the Japan Association of Translators and Foreign Executive Women, Kansai.

The books that Catherine showed us and discussed in the talk are as follows:

日本伝統文化の英語表現事典 (A Quick Guide to Traditional Japanese Arts and Handicrafts), ¥4,180
日本伝統文化の英語表現事典【人物編】(The Quick Guide to Cultural Figures of Japan), ¥4,180

Eleanor Yamaguchi is associate professor in international cultural exchange at Kyoto Prefectural University, where she specializes in Japanese history and culture and UK-Japan relations. She worked in Aomori and in Aichi prefectures before settling in Kyoto in 2019.

Moderator Larry Walker is professor at Kyoto Prefectural University, specializing in translation and publishing history.

Time: 9:30 a.m.–12:00 noon JST

What's it like working in the otaku zone? Managing translator at J-Novel Club and founder of Japanese Translators of NYC Kristi Fernandez is our guest moderator speaking with three translators who work on manga, light novels, anime subtitles, and more. 

Emily Balistrieri is an American translator based in Tokyo. Projects include Kiki's Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl by Tomihiko Morimi, JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World by Ko Hiratori, and The Refugees' Daughter by Takuji Ichikawa. He also translates two ongoing light novels series, Kugane Maruyama's Overlord and Carlo Zen's The Saga of Tanya the Evil.

Stephen Paul has been a translator of comics and novels since 2004. His credits include Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, Reki Kawahara’s Sword Art Online, Yukito Kishiro’s Battle Angel Alita, and Makoto Yukimura’s Vinland Saga.

Molly Rabbitt is a jack of all trades translator who has worked on manga, subtitling, games, and more in addition to working as a localization assistant at Futekiya. Translations include Yuji Onda’s Beware the Kamiki Brothers!, Soraho Ina’s Fairy Tale Battle Royale, Yugo Ishikawa’s Wonderland, and Shuzo Oshimi's Miss Kusakabe. They have also lectured on the North American creative media localization industry at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Wordsmiths of Yokohama
Guests: Ruth and John McCreery, Richard Medhurst, and Louise Heal Kawai
Moderator: Frank Walter
Time: 9:30 a.m.–12:00 noon JST

We are pleased to welcome four wordsmiths residing in Yokohama for our July SWET Talk Shop Online. We will meet again on a Sunday morning Japan time to accommodate participants from other parts of the world as much as possible. After a 15–20-minute interview with each guest speaker, we will open up the meeting for Q&A and discussion.

Ruth and John McCreery provide high-quality writing, translation, and other word services through their company, The Word Works, founded in 1984. They work with publishers, museums, ad agencies, market researchers, financial institutions, government agencies, and non-profits.

Richard Medhurst translates, edits, and sometimes writes for the news and culture website Nippon.com. He is also the author of Word Wise, a series of articles on translating tricky terms at the SWET website (https://swet.jp/columns/C40).

Louise Heal Kawai has lived in Yokohama for five years. Born and educated in the UK, she teaches at Waseda University and translates literature. Her translations include Ms Ice Sandwich, by Mieko Kawakami (2017) and The Honjin Murders, by Seishi Yokomizo (2019).

Frank Walter is a translator and editor at Export Japan.

Our June SWET Talk Shop Online will be held on a Sunday morning Japan time to accommodate participants from other parts of the world as much as possible. We are pleased to welcome three wordsmiths who reside in northern Nagano prefecture. After a 15–20-minute interview with each guest speaker, we will open up the meeting for Q&A and discussion.

Brenda Kaneta moved to Osaka on the JET program in 1997 and, including a stint at Universal Studios Japan, worked there for 11 years. She moved to the city of Nagano in 2008 and began freelancing as a translator and interpreter while raising a family. In 2019 she moved to Suzaka. Her website, Wordbridge, tells her story and advertises her services.

Hart Larrabee is a Japanese-to-English translator and has been based in Nagano in the town of Obuse since 2002. Originally from New York state, he first came to Japan in 1987 as a college student and has also lived in both Kyoto and Tokyo. After obtaining graduate degrees in communication and business administration, he worked primarily in Olympic and international games administration between 1995 and 2009. Translation has been his full-time occupation since 2009.

Susan Murata has been a freelance Japanese-to-English translator and editor for more than 40 years. She has put her bilingual skills to work at a large printing company, a small translation office, an intercultural communications workshop, an international educational exchange program, and for 15 years, at the large science institute, RIKEN. In 2018, she moved her residence to Suzaka.

Three Wordsmiths of Northern Kanto:
Janine Beichman, Victoria Oyama, and Alison Watts

Our May SWET Talk Shop Online will be held on a Sunday morning to accommodate participants in the U.S. We are pleased to welcome three SWET stalwarts who reside in Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures in the northeastern part of the Kanto region. After 15–20-minute interviews with our guest speakers, we will open up the meeting for Q&A and discussion.

Janine Beichman is professor emerita of Daito Bunka University and specialist in the poetry of Masaoka Shiki, Yosano Akiko, and Ooka Makoto. Beichman lives in Tsukuba, Ibaraki prefecture. She received the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature in 2020 for her translations of Ooka Makoto's poetry, Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets.

Victoria Oyama is a professional translator who lives in Mashiko, Tochigi prefecture. She has lived in Japan for 40 years and has expert knowledge of ceramics, Japanese folk craft, and Japanese art in general.

Alison Watts is a freelance translator who lives in Tokaimura, Ibaraki prefecture. After a long career as a commercial translator, she now exclusively translates literature, including Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa (Oneworld, 2017) and the recent long article by Sukegawa about retracing Basho’s path in post-2011 Tohoku.

Time: 6:30–9:00 p.m. (main talk starts at 7:00)
Place: Participation via Zoom (see below for sign-up info).

RSVP: E-mail us at SWET Events to sign up for information on how to access the Zoom meeting. 

These days, major brands increasingly enlist the help of content production firms to spread awareness through consumable media such as video, film, articles, and radio, like the short film that Marriot debuted on Youtube, or the podcast that Lexus is making with Malcolm Gladwell. The companies that produce this content are called “media companies.” These companies have staked out a claim in the territory straddling translation firms, advertising agencies, and publication houses.

Wordsmiths in Japan have always been jacks-of-all-trades, but the new era has broadened the spectrum of demand to include advertising copy, CSR, travel blogs, short films, audio guides—the list goes on. As companies seek to spread their brand awareness on as many platforms and through as many media as possible, English-producers working in Japan must expand their own horizons.

Frank Walter and Brendan Craine work at Export Japan Inc, a media company that represents japanguide.com and that has been operating since 2000. They will talk about what a "media company" does, how they got into the business, and how the skills of wordsmiths are being used for various types of current market demand.

***Meeting as planned***

Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m. 

Place: Book House Café, Jinbocho, 2nd Floor, Osetsushitsu

http://bookhousecafe.jp/

See website for map; come out from Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Look for the SWET signs.

Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the café (see the menu at the Book House Café website)

RSVP: Please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at SWET.

Putting aside fiscal year-end schedules and coronavirus woes, SWET’s Talk Shop will meet on schedule. We'll take this opportunity to welcome those who wish to bring a topic to discuss or have special questions to ask. Talk is also likely to stray to plans for the 40th anniversary, including a proposed symposium, book exhibit, and essay anthology. Please come and join us.

Special Guest: Rochelle Kopp

Date: February 12, 2020 (Wed.)
Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m. (Talk begins at 7:00)
Place: Book House Café, Jinbocho, First Floor, Gulliver Room
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Please take the elevator or stairs to the second floor on the left side of the building. We will be in a small parlor-like room on the left side at the end of the corridor. Look for the SWET signs.
Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the café (see the "Menu" at the Book House Café website)

Reservations: Please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at SWET

Writer, corporate consultant, translator, and educator Rochelle Kopp will join us to talk about the varied professional hats she has worn working over three decades in and outside Japan. From her perspective as both a creator and consumer of translations and other materials about Japan in English, as well as a consultant to Japanese organizations seeking to be successful globally, she’ll comment on what she sees as some of the most frequent issues relating to the cross-cultural transmission of information. Kopp will also share the origins of her recent interest in problematic English signage in Japan and lead a brainstorming session on how SWET members can help to improve the situation.

Where did 2019 go? The Tokyo (and Sapporo <g>) Olympics will be upon us sooner than we think. In the meantime, it’s time for the annual gathering of local wordsmiths in Kansai. Catch up with friends and colleagues, and make new acquaintances. Of course, partners and friends are very welcome.

If you’re interested in getting into the translation, interpreting and editing industry, don't miss this is a good opportunity to network and get advice from your senpai in the field.

Venue: Shinya, Umeda, Osaka (B1F of Dai-2 Ekimae Building)
Access: 5–10 mins’ walk from all major stations in Umeda (大阪市北区梅田1丁目2-2大阪駅前第2ビル地下1階52号)
Map: http://bit.ly/kushiyaki　(It's not above ground, so don't rely on Google Maps)
Date: Sunday December 15, 2019; 6−8 p.m. (2jikai same place, but we must buy drinks)
Cost: 4,500 yen (meal and nomihodai)
Reservations: SWET Kansai; (Please tell us if you are vegetarian, so we can accommodate you.)
Deadline: Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Cancellations: Cancel after this date, and you may need to pay if the restaurant requests us to pay.

**NOTE** Indicating that you are attending on Facebook does not necessarily ensure you a place, so please email us.

Date: November 4 (Mon.) 

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Place: Kamakura Brunch Kitchen

http://www.brunch-kitchen-kamakura.com/

Cost: Around ¥2,000. See the prices on the menu at the website above.

It seems that quite a number of SWET members live in or near the Shonan area, and many others would like to find an excuse to get down there once in a while. The idea for “SWET Shonan” was born at this year’s summer party, envisioned as a series of casual events designed for socializing with wordsmithing peers at locations around the Sagami Bay area. The inaugural event is planned for the holiday Monday on November 4 with a brunch in Kamakura. Afterwards, those who have the time and interest might continue on to Engakuji and Kenchoji in Kita-Kamakura for the annual airing of the treasures.

Do let us know if you’re coming by emailing us at SWET Events by Friday, Nov. 1.

Special Guest: Ruth Stevens

Date: November 20, 2019
Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m. (Talk begins at 7:00)
Place: Book House Café, Jinbocho, Second Floor Osetsushitsu
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Please take the elevator or stairs to the second floor on the left side of the building. We will be in a small parlor-like room on the left side at the end of the corridor. Look for the SWET signs.
Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the café (see the "Menu" at the Book House Café website)

Reservations: Please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at SWET
Nijikai: Ruth Stevens will join participants for snacks and drinks at a post-session gathering (9:00–10:30 p.m. at the same location). Please also let us know at events@swet.jp if you would like to attend this nijikai. 

You will learn

• How to craft a business model that leverages your strengths
• Three key principles of self-employed success
• Five techniques for building your personal brand
• The two things you should do before leaving your day job

Ruth Stevens hung out her shingle as a marketing consultant in 2000, after 15 years in corporate life, and 8 years before that in editorial and English teaching work in Kanazawa and Tokyo. She lives in New York City and looks forward to reconnecting with SWET friends at this program.

(Please note changed weekday and hours)
Date: October 26 (Sat.), 2019
Time: Writing Clinic 3:00–5:00; Discussion 5:00–6:00 p.m.
Place: Book House Café, Jinbocho, First Floor Gulliver Room
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Look for the SWET signs.
Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the café (see the "Menu" at the Book House Café website)

RSVP: Please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at SWET

Whatever the field—travel/tourism, marketing, PR/advertising, CSR,…—wordsmiths working on Japan-related content for the general reader must bridge gaps in historical, cultural, and linguistic knowledge of all sorts. Their work faces problems no less demanding than for texts targeting a specialized readership. Some of the topics this workshop will address are the handling of cultural and historical references, pitfalls of translating between the conventions standard in Japanese and those more appropriate in English, and considerations for readers who are not native speakers of English.

How the workshop will work:

If you wish to participate in the workshop, please email SWET Events in advance. Those who sign up will receive a copy of the texts to be critiqued in the workshop by October 19.
We’ll work on the selected texts collaboratively during the first two hours. In the last hour, we’ll turn our attention to open discussion of the other gnarly issues of writing, translating, and editing for the general reader that participants wish to share with the group.

芸術と舞台芸術のための「翻訳」： 伝統翻訳のダイナミズム
特別ゲスト：マリサ・リンネ（京都国立博物館 学芸部連携協力室　専門職)

Special Guest: Melissa Rinne, Specialist, Kyoto National Museum

(Please note changed weekday and hours)
Date: September 28 (Sat.), 2019 
Time: 3:00–6:00 p.m. (Discussion begins at 4:00)
Place: Book House Café, Jinbocho, First Floor Gulliver Room
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Look for the SWET signs.
Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the café (see the "Menu" at the Book House Café website)

RSVP: Please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at SWET

Creating English texts about culture and the arts is a dynamic process involving translation, editing, writing, and research. It requires not only good English writing skills and knowledge of Japan and the Japanese language, but an understanding of international conventions and a sense for graphic design in order to present information in an easily communicable format. The rationale behindf this dynamic process must be understood by the initiators of a project at the host institution and the go-between staff and experts involved, not to mention the professional wordsmiths hired by them.

Melissa Rinne, art historian and expert on art-related projects (see full profile below), will share from her long experience working with museums and other art-related projects in Japan.

With many ambitious projects being planned and launched in the run-up to the 2020 Olympic/Paralympic year, professional networking, information and editorial style-sheet sharing, and collaboration are urgently needed.

芸術と舞台芸術のための「翻訳」： 伝統翻訳のダイナミズム
特別ゲスト：マリサ・リンネ、（京都国立博物館 学芸部連携協力室　専門職)

時間：午後3時～6時

場所： 〒101-0051 東京都千代田区神田神保町2-5　北沢ビル1F

子供の本専門店＆カフェBook House Caféブックハウスカフェ1階応ガリバー・ルーム

都営三田線・新宿線・東京メトロ半蔵門線「神保町」駅より徒歩1分
神保町駅A1出口を出て右側にございます。ウェブサイトの地図をご覧ください。http://bookhousecafe.jp/

地下鉄神保町駅A1出口を出て右へお進みいただくと、15メートルほどのところに北沢ビルがございます。「SWET」のサインが目印です。 料金は無料です。

１階のカフェでお食事やお飲み物を購入できます。
Book House Caféウェブサイトの「メニュー」をご覧ください。
出席ご希望の方は、メールで SWET 席をご予約ください。

ある土地に固有の伝統的文化を翻訳は、 それに初めて接する人にも、その内容に親しみを感じてもらい、理解出来るように伝えるのが仕事です。

日本語の内容を英語にする際、縦のものを横にするだけでは翻訳にはなりません。文脈に埋もれている情報を加えたり、国際的な情報様式に変換しなければなりません。そのためには編集やコピーライティング（ライティング）のスキルも必要になります。

日本語から英語への翻訳者にとっては、こうした翻訳上の微妙な消息を十分に理解し、日本の翻訳依頼者にそれを説明できるスキルも大切です。

2020年のオリンピック・パラリンピックに先駆け多くの野心的なプロジェクトが計画され、すでに開始されています。翻訳に関わる様々なプロフェショナルのネットワーキング、情報および編集スタイルシートの共有、そして相互の協力が急務です。 

____________

SWETトーク＆ワークショップは通常毎月第３水曜日に、ネットワーキング、様々なトピックについてのディスカッション、SWETプロジェクトのブレインストーミングのために都内で集まっているインフォーマルな会合です。

Melissa M. Rinne is a specialist in the Department of Curatorial Engagement in the Curatorial Division of the Kyoto National Museum. A Japanese art historian with a specialization in textiles and decorative arts, she was previously assistant curator then associate curator of Japanese art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, adjunct research associate at the Nara National Museum, visiting scholar at the Tokyo National Museum, and a member of the National Task Force for the Japanese Cultural Heritage Disaster Risk Mitigation (CH-DRM) Network. Since 2010 she has been an American representative of the binational Arts Dialogue Committee of CULCON (The U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange). She is currently a board member of ICDAD—the International Committee for Decorative Arts and Design of ICOM (International Council of Museums)—and an advisory board or selection board member for several Japanese government panels related to museums and cultural heritage. She received her A.B. (Honors) from Brown University, her M.A. from Kyoto City University of Arts (Monbushō scholarship recipient), and completed doctoral coursework at Kyoto University. Past Asian Art Museum publications include Masters of Bamboo: Artistic Lineages in the Lloyd Cotsen Japanese Basket Collection (2007), The Printer's Eye: Ukiyo-e from the Grabhorn Collection (co-author, 2013), In the Moment: Japanese Art from the Larry Ellison Collection (co-author, 2013), and other articles and exhibition catalogues. Recent English-language publications include “Chigusa’s Mouth Cover and the Maeda Clan” in Around Chigusa: Tea and the Arts of Sixteenth-Century Japan (Tang Center for East Asian Art/Princeton University Press, 2017) and “Echigo Jōfu: Summer Kimono Born in the Snow” (2016) for the online Google Arts and Culture Made in Japan series. She has translated numerous publications on Japanese art, including the book Raku: A Legacy of Japanese Tea Ceramics by Raku Kichizaemon and Raku Atsundo (Seigensha, 2015; editor and co-translator) and the catalogue Masterworks of the Kyoto National Museum: Temple and Shrine Treasures (Kyoto National Museum, 2019; translator).

マリサ・リンネ（京都国立博物館 学芸部連携協力室　専門職）
美術史家（テキスタイル・装飾芸術専攻）

サンフランシスコ・アジア美術館学芸部日本美術工芸課アシスタントキュレーターのち主任研究員
奈良国立博物館非常勤研究員
東京国立博物館で客員研究員
文化財防災ネットワーク対策本部メンバー
日米文化教育交流会議（カルコン）アメリカ代表（2010年より）
ICOM （美術館・博物館国際評議会）に属するICDAD（装飾芸術・デザイン国際委員会）理事会メンバー
美術館と文化遺産に関係する日本の複数の政府機関の諮問委員会の一員
ブラウン大学文学士（優等）
京都市立芸術大学文学修士（文部科学省奨学生）
京都大学大学院博士課程単位取得退学

<著作物>
『竹の名匠』（2007年）
『刷り師の目：グラブホーン浮世絵コレクション』（2013年、共著）
『ラリー・エリソン所蔵日本美術展』(2013年、共著)
「千種の口覆いと前田一族」『千種を巡って——16世紀日本の茶と芸術』（東アジア芸術唐センター・プリンストン大学出版部、2017年）
「越後上布——雪国に生まれた最高級の夏きもの」(グーグル・アーツ&カルチャー・Made in Japanシリーズ、2016年）

<翻訳>

『Raku: A Legacy of Japanese Tea Ceramics』樂吉左衛門・樂篤人著 青幻舎、2015年、共訳・編集
『京博寄託の名宝——寺院と神社の宝物』京都国立博物館、2019年

Date: July 28, 2019 (Sun.)
Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Place: GARB Pintino (French, Italian, dining bar)
3 Chome-22 Kanda Nishiki-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Website: http://www.garb-pintino.com/ See website for access
Fee: ¥5,500
RSVP: The restaurant needs a headcount, so please be sure to let SWET know by Thursday evening, July 25 if you are coming. SWET will have to pay for the number of servings requested by the 26th, so please agree to pay in full if you have to cancel on the 27th or 28th.

Our annual summer soirée is on the horizon! Join us for an evening gathering of warm hearts in a cool and stylish venue as we celebrate the season, nurture friendships and make new connections. The evening includes a dinner buffet and 90 minutes of free-flowing beverages.

Food Menu:
Seasonal steam-fried vegetables・Caesar salad with aged balsamic vinegar・cherry tomato and Hokkaido mozzarella salad caprese・Jamón Serrano (dry-cured Spanish ham)・fried Kumamoto Shiba-ebi・Hokkaido shoestring potatoes・grilled herb-marinated chicken・penne arrabbiata・baguette and sourdough breads・chocolate angel food cake (Vegetarians: please let us know your preferences)

Drink Menu:
Kirin Heartland beer・red wine・white wine・whiskey (on-the-rocks, mizu-wari, highball, highball cocktail, ginger ale cocktail) Shochu (potato, barley: on-the-rocks, mizu-wari, oolong-wari), cocktails (orange-cassis, oolong-cassis, orange-peach, Moscow mule, gin and tonic, gin buck, Malibu, grapefruit-Campari)・soft drinks  (orange juice, grapefruit juice, oolong tea, cola, ginger ale)

Date: June 2, 2019 (Sunday) 4 pm–5:30 pm (tribute) 5:30 pm–8 pm (farewell dinner) 
Place: Ganko Takasegawa Nijoen, Kyoto (a 5-min walk from Subway Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae and Keihan Sanjo Stations)
URL: https://www.gankofood.co.jp/en/shop/detail/ya-nijyoen
Cost: Tribute – 1,000 yen SWET members (1,500 yen non-members); Dinner — 4,134 yen kaiseki course (drinks not included, vegetarian option available)
Reservations: Email SWET Kansai by Sunday, May 26th. Please indicate attendance to the talk and/or dinner, and vegetarian preference.
Cancellations: Must be received by May 31st. Cancellations on June 1st and 2nd will be charged 100%

Seats are limited so be sure to book early!

Juliet Winters Carpenter, one of the preeminent translators of modern Japanese literature and winner of multiple translation awards, will be returning to live in the U. S. this summer after decades of working and living in Kyoto and environs. 

Juliet has been very generous with her time and expertise over the years, and as a token of appreciation for her contributions to the translation community, SWET Kansai will hold a tribute and farewell celebration in an intimate setting.

The tribute portion will be informal and participatory; attendees who wish to do so are encouraged to contribute specific passages from her large body of work, reminiscences of her many past presentations, or ask questions related to her work.

Profile
Juliet Winters Carpenter grew up in Evanston, Illinois, earned degrees in Japanese literature at the University of Michigan, and has lived in or near Kyoto since 1975. Her translation of Kobo Abe’s “Secret Rendezvous” received the 1980 Japan-US Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature, and in 2014 her translation of Minae Mizumura’s “A True Novel” received the same award. She most recently translated Yuzo Murayama’s “Heritage Culture and Business, Kyoto Style” for the Japan Library. Her current projects include Ryotaro Shiba’s “Ryoma!,” Mizumura’s “An I-novel from left to right,” and Keiichiro Hirano’s “At the End of the Matinee.” To date, Carpenter has written three books; translated 38 books of fiction, 29 of non-fiction and 13 of poetry into English; subtitled three movies; and translated four books into Japanese.

Date: June 19 (Wed.)Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Place: Book House Cafe, Kitazawa Building, Jinbocho, 2nd-floor "Osetsushitsu"
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Please take the elevator or stairs to the second floor on the left side of the building. We will be in a small parlor-like room on the left side at the end of the corridor. Look for the SWET signs.

Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the Cafe (see the "Menu" at the Book House Cafe website)

Planning ways to celebrate the founding of SWET in November 1980, bringing us to 40 years in November 2020 will kick off at this meeting. What is our anniversary good for? What to celebrate? Who’s interested? Where? What for? Why? Come join core members of the SWET Steering Committee in putting ideas into the pot for consideration of feasibility, cost, etc.

RSVP: Please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at info[at]swet.j

Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Place: Book House Cafe, Kitazawa Building, Jinbocho, 2nd Floor Osetsushitsu
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Please take the elevator or stairs to the second floor on the left side of the building. We will be in a small parlor-like room on the left side at the end of the corridor. Look for the SWET signs.
Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the Cafe (see the "Menu" at the Book House Cafe website)

RSVP: Please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at SWET.

Martie Jelinek, art historian, tutor, and veteran translator for numerous art museums and other clients, joining us during a visit from her home in the U.K., will share her experiences and insights into art translation and teaching. 

(Photo: Some catalogues where Martie's work is published.)

SWET Talk Shop, March 20 (Wed.)

Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Place: Book House Cafe, Jinbocho, 2nd Floor Parlor (*note room change)
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. We will be on the ground floor at the back (left side), beyond the children's books. Look for the SWET sign.
Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the Cafe (see the "Menu" at the Book House Cafe website)

RSVP: Please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at info[at]swet.jp

Travel writer Rob Goss will share his experiences on tourist promotion press trips in Japan and travel writer/photographer Phil Ono will talk about style and translation for travel-related text. Both are members of SWET’s Travel Writing SIG. Others will share tour guide translation and related experiences.

Date: April 17 (Wed.)

Editing Experiences: New Tools, Professional Development and Networking, with Sara Kitaoji 

Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Place: Book House Cafe, Kitazawa Building, Jinbocho, 2nd Floor Osetsushitsu
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Please take the elevator or stairs to the second floor on the left side of the building. We will be in a small parlor-like room on the left side at the end of the corridor. Look for the SWET signs.
Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the Cafe (see the "Menu" at the Book House Cafe website)

RSVP: Please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at SWET

We welcome Sara Kitaoji, SWET member visiting Tokyo from Sydney, Australia, who will share her experiences in editing research papers and theses with back-up using editing tools like PerfectIt. She will also discuss the benefits of ongoing professional development through national associations such as the Institute of Professional Editors and networking with other editors in various fields/genres around the world via social media. This will be a good opportunity to discuss what's going on in the profession and ways to increase your "editor power" as a Japan-based professional.

SWET Talk Shop, February 20 (Wed.)

Meeting of Minds on Scholarly Translation: The Proceedings Published

Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Place: Book House Cafe, Jinbocho
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. We will be on the ground floor at the back (left side), beyond the children's books. Look for the SWET sign.
Fee: Free of charge. Food and drink available at the Cafe (see the "Menu" at the Book House Cafe website)

RSVP:  Please do let us know if you are coming so we can plan accordingly. E-mail us at SWET Events. 

Scholars, publishing initiators, and professional translators and editors gathered in 2016 for a symposium to discuss the aspirations and difficulties, the arts, crafts, and the nitty-gritty of translation practice, particularly for scholarly works in the humanities. Now Reevaluating Translation as a Driving Force of Scholarship: Proceedings of the Symposium (国際シンポジウム「翻訳の再評価: 学問を深める原動力」報告書; 280 pp.), has been published by the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken) in Kyoto. The book records the discussion among 21 scholars, managing editors of translation publishing programs, and professional wordsmiths (many of them SWET members), as well as audience members gathered together at Nichibunken three years ago. 
   The content includes accounts of specific experiences in translation and publication of scholarly works, translation of primary sources, discussion of the problems with distribution, checking, and editing. Not only scholarly translation projects but many other non-fiction publishing projects can benefit from the candid sharing of professional practice and scholarly perspective recorded in this volume. To be available online as well as in printed form by mid February.
This event is planned to introduce this publication and call attention to its content. Some of the symposium participants will be present, and we hope interested persons will gather to brainstorm about a possible future symposium on the broader theme "Reevaluating Translation as a Driving Force of Culture."

This publication, which is Nichibunken’s International Symposium No. 52, can now be downloaded from the Nichibunken repository website.  Click on <全文>国際シンポジウム : 52 . Parts of the book are in English and parts in Japanese, but except for the foreword and symmary, they are not provided in both languages.

Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m.
Place: Book House Cafe, Jinbocho, Gulliver Room
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. We will be on the ground floor at the back (left side), beyond the children's books. Look for the SWET sign.
Fee: ￥4,000 for full (vegetarian-friendly) meal (drinks on your own from the Book House Cafe menu)
RSVP: Please be sure to let us know if you are coming as we need a head count for the catering. E-mail us at SWET Events, by January 20.

Join us as SWET comes together to kick off the new year! 
We have a special evening planned in Jinbocho, Tokyo's book town, with catering by 
young Italy-trained chef Murata Rei.

networking ・catching up・sharing what we've been up to・conjuring the future

SCBWI Japan Translation Day on October 20, 2018, in Yokohama will feature a workshop by Louise Heal Kawai, translator of Ms. Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami. Ms. Kawakami is described in the Japan Times this month as "one of Japan’s brightest stars . . . set to explode across the global skies of literature." 

SWETers can attend Translation Day at member price. October 8 is the deadline for advance registrations and translations of short, selected text by Mieko Kawakami for Louise Heal Kawai's workshop. Email SCBWI to register and request the text.

Translation Day will also feature Takami Nieda, translator of the novel Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro, and Adam Freudenheim, publisher and managing director at Pushkin Press (both appearing via prerecorded Skype) as well as translator Yumiko Sakuma and author Holly Thompson discussing US/UK middle grade, young adult, and adult book categories. 

The full schedule for Translation Day is available.  

https://japan.scbwi.org/events/scbwi-japan-translation-day/

Please join SWET and SCBWI colleagues for this day of presentations, workshops, and conversation.

Translating Ryōma!: The Life of Sakamoto Ryōma, Japanese Swordsman and Visionary (vol. 1)

A Talk by Juliet Winters Carpenter, Kyoto, October 7 (Sun.), 2018

Time: 1:00–3:30 p.m.

Place: Room 207, James-kan, Doshisha Women's College, Imadegawa Campus (for directions to the campus, see http://www.dwc.doshisha.ac.jp/english/access/imadegawa/; for a campus map showing James-kan, see http://www.dwc.doshisha.ac.jp/english/access/imadegawa/campusmap.html)

Fee: ¥500 yen for SWET members; ¥1,000 yen for non-members

RSVP: Reservations appreciated. Please email SWET Kansai.

Order your copy and get reading on Amazon Kindle:  http://bit.ly/Ryoma1_Kindle.
 

The talk will delve into some of the challenges and delights in translating Shiba Ryotaro's most famous work, Ryoma ga yuku: dialects, swordfighting and sword nomenclature, avoiding repetition while maintaining some of the newspaper-novel style, deciding on the level of historical detail needed, and more.

Ryoma ga yuku (1963-66) has been a monster best-seller in Japan, with some 24 million copies sold to date. It is a rollicking page-turner with a beloved protagonist, Sakamoto Ryoma—a man who more than most paved the way for the Meiji Restoration. Three translators have split the volumes (Margaret Mitsutani, vols 4-5; Paul McCarthy, vols. 1, 3, and 7; myself, vols. 2, 6, and 8). The first volume of the English translation is now out, and the rest will follow through 2020. In the talk I will discuss challenges such as rendering various dialects (Kochi, Kagoshima, Edo, Kyoto...); dealing with minutiae of kendo and swords; translating the various waka that occur in the text; coordinating a myriad details with the help of our indefatigable editor, Phyllis Birnbaum; trying not to overwhelm the Western reader with too many foreign personal and place names, and generally trying to make the novel as lively and appealing in English as it is in Japanese.

Juliet Winters Carpenter has lived in Japan for over forty-five years and is a prolific, award-winning translator of Japanese literature. Besides Ryoma!, other recent translations include works by Minae Mizumura, Miura Shion, and Nakano Koji. She is currently also working on a book about Kyoto business—its heritage industries and high-tech industries—and a compendium of a dozen or so "greatest hits" of Japanese literature in translation. She will retire from Doshisha Women’s College in March 2019.

Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2018 (Wednesday)

Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Location: Gulliver Room, Book House Café (Jimbocho, Tokyo)

https://www.bookhousecafe.jp/

Come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Look for the SWET sign.

Fee: Free for SWET members, ¥1,000 for non-members

RSVP: Space is limited, so please contact Rob Goss in advance if you plan to attend.

The new travel writing SIG will be have its second meeting in Tokyo on the evening of September 26 (Wed). If you are a writer, translator, interpreter-guide, photographer or anyone else with an interest in the craft of travel writing, please save the date. For this meet-up, we will be looking at clichés and stereotypes when covering Japan, and how we can fairly represent the country.

How and when, for example, should we lead clients away from the usual images of geisha, sumo, and cosplayers? How can we help put what gets labelled as “quirky Japan” into proper context? For both words and photography, what are Japan-related clichés? When are they OK? What could be the alternatives? Do related issues arise when translating Japanese tourism material into English? Come join us to discuss that and more.

Here is a report on our first meetup held in July. Space is limited to 20 people, so please be sure to get in touch (see RSVP link above or write to info[at]swet.jp).

Please note this was originally scheduled for July 18 but is now on July 19 because of event space availability.

Date: July 19, 2018 (Thurs.)
Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m. 

Location: Tokyo (Book House Café, Jimbocho, 2F Gulliver Room)
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
Come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. Look for the SWET sign.

RSVP: Materials will be sent out prior to the meeting, so please contact Rob Goss in advance if you plan to participate in the workshop.

SWET’s new travel writing SIG will have its first official meeting in Tokyo on the evening of July 19 (Thur.). If you have an interest in the craft or business of travel writing, please save the date. The event will be split into two parts:

Part 1: What is travel writing?

Travel writing is a field that encompasses everything from hotel and restaurant reviews to destination guides, travel narratives and features on artisans. In this first hour we will have the opportunity to get to know each other while looking at the kind of work that gets published under the travel writing banner (and by who). There will be a selection of samples at the venue to highlight the variety of publications that publish travel-related writing and the varying types of travel writing itself. If you have samples you would like to bring and share, please do. The more the merrier.

Part 2: Pitching workshop

A great story is no good if it never gets published. It needs a great pitch. In this workshop we will look at simple guidelines for putting together pitches and contacting publications. We will then help each other tweak our own pitches and emails of introduction to publications. If you have a pitch or a draft of an introductory letter you would like the group to give feedback on, please email it to Rob Goss by July 15.

Creative Writing Workshop, Kyoto, June 9 (Sat.)
John Einarsen's Photographs and Flash Fiction Writing
Concept and Moderator: Rebecca Otowa
Time: 2:00–5:00 p.m. (workshop); 5:00–7:30 p.m. (dinner)
Place: TKP Kyoto Shijo Karasuma Kaigishitsu, Room 1 (7F) https://www.kashikaigishitsu.net/facilitys/kg-kyoto-shijokarasuma/access/ 
(Exit 13, take elevator in hallway next to Doutor, not Starbucks)
Google Maps: http://bit.ly/TKPbyStarbucks 
Admission: ¥1,500 (members), ¥2,000 (non-members)

“Flash fiction is a work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development.”—Wikipedia

John Einarsen, lead editor of the Kyoto Journal, is also a photographer of note, known for his evocative renderings of everyday objects mostly overlooked. He has just finished an exhibition for Kyotographie+ called "The Universe at my Feet" in Kyoto. 

John will introduce his work with slides, and provide photographs which participants will use as the basis for flash fiction. Since there are various kinds of flash fiction, in this workshop there will be a tentative limit of 1–3 paragraphs or 300 words (shorter is also fine!). Participants may write by hand or on tablets, etc. Any number of fiction passages may be written as time permits.

Afterward, we will repair to Spring Valley Brewery (a short walk away) for craft beer, dinner and sharing our writing from 5:00. to 7:30 p.m. Pay as you order. http://www.springvalleybrewery.jp/kyoto/

RSVP by June 6 (Wed.) to Richard Sadowsky: SWET Kansai 
Please indicate: 
Attending the workshop ___
Attending the dinner ___

Date: Nov 10, 2018 (Saturday)

Time: 2:00-5:00 p.m. 

Place: Book House Cafe, Jinbocho, Tokyo  http://bookhousecafe.jp/

This talk will introduce Yoshino Genzaburo’s Kimitachi wa do ikiru ka? (How Do You Live?), which is the inspiration behind a future Hayao Miyazaki movie of the same title. Learn about the background to this story of Copel-kun learning to think for himself with the guidance of his uncle and through experiences with his friends; the portrayal of a rapidly changing society in 1930s Tokyo; and how the work has evolved since it was first published as a children's book in 1937 through to 2017 when it became a best-selling manga. What is it about this eclectic story that makes it so well-loved? Come and find out!

Directions: See Book House Cafe website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. We will be in the hall at the back of the second floor (elevator available). Look for the SWET signs.

Fee: Free of charge.

For further information. E-mail us at SWET Events

Time:  1:00–4:00 p.m.
Place: Shinsentei teahouse, Rikugien, Komagome, Tokyo (see below for details)
Fee: The event itself is free of charge, but there is a 300-yen admission fee to enter the Rikugien grounds.
Potluck: Please bring one dish and drinks to contribute to a late lunch. (Paper plates and cups, chopsticks, forks, and napkins will be provided)
RSVP: Please let us know if you are coming so we can gauge numbers. And we'd love to hear if you’re planning something special for the potluck.

RSVP: Those interested in a post-party dinner nearby, please let us know in advance.

Take refuge against the 2018 heat wave in the air-conditioned comfort of the Rikugien teahouse, looking out over the garden's verdure and the pond’s cool waters. In good SWET company, share a late lunch of potluck fare and enjoy an exhibit of drawings and paintings by SWET member Stuart Ayre, then join in a talk with Lynne E. Riggs as she shares experiences from the book translation aspect of her more-than-40-year career. 

The Art of Stuart Ayre: Sketches, Paintings, and Townscapes
An exhibit of works by SWET's own up-and-coming artist Stuart Ayre will be on display in the adjoining tatami room. Enjoy how the artist's observant eye captures landscapes of the city and its denizens, whimsical moments, and eternal truths in pen, watercolors, and gouache. 

1:00–2:00  Potluck Summer Party

Mingling and networking

Please contribute to the communal table by bringing a dish or snack to share and drink(s) for yourself.
2:00–3:00   Talk with Lynne E. Riggs on her experiences in translating books
3:00–4:00   Wrap-up conversations and tidy up teahouse 
We must completely vacate the teahouse by 4:00, but we are free to continue conversations and explore the gardens until the 5:00 closing time.
4:00–6:00   Post-party dinner nearby (details to be sent to those who RSVP)

Lynne E. Riggs is a professional translator and editor based in Tokyo. With Takechi Manabu, she translates mainly nonfiction works through their company, the Center for Intercultural Communication, founded in 1990. She edited and coordinated humanities and social science periodicals translated from Japanese in the 1980s and 1990s, and from 1997 to 2009 served as managing editor of Monumenta Nipponica. She is a founding member of SWET, was coordinating editor of the SWET Newsletter from 2004 to 2012, and continues to be an active volunteer. She taught an introductory course in Japanese-to-English translation at International Christian University from 2000 to 2015.

The Venue
The Shinsentei teahouse at Rikugien garden in Komagome is a classic structure with expansive verandas overlooking the garden—and with the added modern convenience of air conditioning.  (Some may recall the SWET summer party held at this venue in 2008).  The garden is the perfect location for a gathering of wordsmiths, as the name Rikugien refers to the six principles of waka composition, and the garden features are meant to evoke 88 famous scenes from Japanese poetry.  Coincidentally, Lynne and SWET Treasurer Chikako Imoto are the translators of Daimyo Gardens, (Nichibunken Monograph Series, no. 19), which includes a section on Rikugien. (The book may be downloaded in chapters from the Nichibunken website).

Rikugien is about a 7-minute walk from Komagome station (JR Yamanote Line and Tokyo Metro Nanboku Line), and about a 10-minute walk from Sengoku station (Toei Mita Line). Please note that there is no parking.

http://teien.tokyo-park.or.jp/en/rikugien/access.html

Special guest Alan Gleason

Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m. Discussion starts at 7:00.
Place (new venue): Book House Cafe, Jinbocho
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. We will be on the ground floor at the back, beyond the children's books. Look for the SWET sign.
Fee: Free of charge.
The first hour is for catching up on news, swapping stories, and catching a quick pick-up from the Book House Cafe menu. The discussion will begin at 7:00. For further information, e-mail us at SWET Events.

In Japan, English text editing can be an ambiguously defined task that requires copyediting, proofreading, rewriting, or all of the above. Translations and texts by non-fluent English writers entail their own special problems, such as having to reference the source text (or pick the writer’s brain) to determine the intended meaning. Editor, translator, and writer Alan Gleason will facilitate a discussion about these issues and how best to handle them, from the standpoint of editors as well as editees. Gleason edits, translates, and writes for the monthly online magazine Artscape. He also works as an editor for the Kateigaho International Edition and the literary website Books from Japan.

Double-Header

• Rob Goss, on a SWET special interest group for travel writers

• Getting down to Brass Tacks on the Japan Style Sheet, 3rd edition

Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m. Discussion starts at 7:00.
Place: Book House Cafe, Jinbocho
http://bookhousecafe.jp/
See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. We will be on the ground floor at the back, beyond the children's books. Look for the SWET sign.
Fee: Free of charge.

For further information: Email us at SWET Events

The first hour is for catching up on news, swapping stories, and catching a quick pick-up from the Book House Cafe menu. The discussion will begin at 7:00. For further information, e-mail us at SWET Events.
• Veteran travel writer Rob Goss will join us to talk about his idea to set up a special interest group within SWET for travel writers, sharing of style and editing tips, terminology resources, and job networking.

• Discussion of revisions to the Japan Style Sheet (2nd edition, Stone Bridge Press), toward publication of a 3rd edition within 2018. What to add, delete, or correct?

If you cannot join us, please send us your suggestions!

If you can come, please bring your copy of JSS and list of suggestions

Contact: SWET
 

Note the other upcoming events on the sidebar calendar!

Streamlining and Professionalizing Your Translation
 

Special guest: Beth Cary

Time: 6:00–9:00 p.m. Discussion starts at 7:00.

Place (new venue): Book House Cafe, Jinbocho

http://bookhousecafe.jp/

See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. We will be on the ground floor at the back, beyond the children's books. Look for the SWET sign.

Fee: Free of charge.

For further information. E-mail us at SWET Events.

We are asked not to bring food into the room, but the cafe serves some food as well as drinks. First hour for catching up on news and swapping stories, asking off-topic questions. The discussion will begin at 7:00.

With veteran translator and interpreter Beth Cary (visiting from California) and other experienced translators in attendance, we take up ways you can make your translation process more efficient, provide a more professional product, and enhance the satisfaction of what you do. Come share your tips and tricks, and share advice for making sometimes arduous work more satisfying.

Date: March 14, 2018

Time: 6:00-9:00 p.m. (Discussion starts at 7:00)

Place: new venue: Book House Cafe, Jinbocho

http://bookhousecafe.jp/

(See website for map; come out Jinbocho subway exit A1, turn right and walk about 15 meters to the Kitazawa Building. We will be on the ground floor at the back, beyond the children's books. Look for the SWET Sign.

RSVP: Space is limited; please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at SWET Events.

Fee: Free of charge; feel free to bring a bento or snack to eat during the first hour while we catch up on news and swap stories. The discussion will begin at 7:00.

We'll take a look at the results of the SWET Survey conducted in February and think about what kinds of events to plan for 2018--including future Talkshops--consider possible speakers, and list some issues about which participants have “burning questions” or ongoing interest.

For a taste of what fellow SWETers are writing, and their perspectives and styles, we will have readings from two or three recently received writings by SWET members and friends. (Counter Kabuki, stories by Jared Lubarsky; Good Night Papa, by Simon Rowe; and In Praise of Shadows, a new translation by Greg Starr).

Put on your calendar--

(all at the same location in Jinbocho; topics to be decided)

SWET Talk Shop, April 18 (Wednesday)

SWET Talk Shop, May 16 (Wednesday)

SWET Talk Shop, June 20 (Wednesday)

Date: October 18, 2017 (Wed.)

Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:00 for social hour)

Place: Books on Japan Library, Jinbocho, Tokyo

At the Jinbocho subway stop, go out the A2 exit; at street level, turn left, go 12 steps, and look for a doorway at the left side of the Megane Drug メガネ・ドラッグ store saying “Books on Japan”; take the stairs to the 2nd floor.

RSVP: Space is limited; please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at SWET Events.

Language: This event will be held in both English and Japanese/このイベントは日本語と英語で行います。

Fee: Free of charge; feel free to bring a bento or snack to eat during the first hour while we catch up on news and swap stories. The workshop will begin at 7:00.

What should translators and editors know to help clients make informed decisions about their English-language websites, books, and other publications in the design and layout processes? How can professional English-language wordsmiths communicate their concerns to designers? What can designers learn from wordsmiths? What are the problems that particularly bedevil us?

英語版のメディア（ウェブサイトや書籍をはじめとする印刷物）を発注するクライアントに対して、より効果的なデザインやレイアウトを提案するために翻訳者や編集者は何を知っておく必要があるのか。英語と英語メディアを熟知している人（翻訳者・編集者）が、それを知らないデザイナーに対して、気になる点をどのように伝えたらいいのか。そしてデザイナーは、そうした人から何を学べるのか。そして、現場で悩ましい問題となる具体的なこととは何か。

The differences between good design for English and Japanese being as different as the two languages, how do we recognize when adjustment needs to be made? How can we be helpful (and not antagonizing) to the designers working with the text we are responsible for? What sorts of terminology do we need to offer effective input on design and layout?

当然ながら、英語版メディアにとって良いデザインは、日本語版メディアにとって良いデザインと違ってくる。そこで翻訳者・編集者は、修正が必要となる箇所をどう認識しておくといいのか。翻訳者・編集者はテキストのレイアウトを依頼する際にデザイナーにとって助かるように（ぶつかるのでなく）するには、何に気をつけたらいいのか。使える＆効果的な指示を出すには、どういう用語を翻訳者・編集者が知っておくべきなのか。

At this Talk Shop we hope to have designers who work with English text on hand and look forward to a chance for exchange and recounting of experiences.

このトークショップでは、上記の問題の改善をはかるために英語テキストを扱うデザイナーに参加してもらい、これまでの経験をもとに具体的な話を交えながら情報共有をしていくことを目的にしています。

With Jeff Robbins

Date: October 28, 2017 (Sat.)
Time: 2:00-5:00 p.m. (Dinner afterward at Italian restaurant Pacioccone. Set meal is 3500 yen.)
Place: (near Kyoto Station) Omiya campus of Ryukoku University (Ask at the gate)
Fee: 500 yen for members of SWET and Writers in Kyoto; 1,000 yen for all others
Reservations: SWET Kansai 

Part I  Difficulties and Solutions in Translating Basho
Interpersonal messages, realization of ordinary words, poetry of verbs, coherence, a graceful musical quality.

Part II  Love and Sex in Basho Renku
Romance, sensuality, passion, adolescent love, shame, disappointment, parting, prostitutes, rape, old age, masculinity, vows.

Japanese and romanization for all poems discussed will be provided in handouts.

Jeff Robbins has explored Basho’s works in Japanese for thirty years, and translated and compiled a database that is the only substantial collection in English of Basho’s linked verse, tanka, letters, and spoken word.

More information at:

http://www.writersinkyoto.com/2015/10/jeff-robbins-compiler-of-basho/
[url=https://www.yumpu.com/user/basho4now]https://www.yumpu.com/user/basho4now[/url]

Venue: 12 minutes’ walk from Kyoto JR station, next to Nishi Honganji
Can be accessed from Shichijo street halfway between Shichijo Horikawa and Shichijo Omiya through a large wooden gate. The guardman will then be able to give further directions.

If going by taxi, simply say 'Ryukoku Daigaku, Shichijo Omiya (or Nanajo Omiya).' 

Text for Tourism: Knowing the Audience, Tending the Details, Using Good Style (This event will be held in both Japanese and English.)
観光客向け資料の考え方：誰が相手か・細部へのこだわり・見てくれの良さ

このイベントは日本語と英語で行います。

Date: September 20, 2017 (Wednesday)
Time: 7:00–9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:00 for set-up and socializing)
Place: Room 204, Wesley Center, 6-10-11, Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0062. Access map here.

Note the location of the Talk Shop is different this month!
Fee: Free of charge
Inquiries: SWET Events

Topics:
What kind of writing addresses tourists’ interests and questions? What encourages their understanding? What gets in the way of understanding? What can be done better in writing, translating, and editing tourism-related materials? We hope participants will bring stories from their experiences working on guidebooks, brochures, museum texts, signboards, and the like.

英文の観光用資料の内容や文章は本当に読者の知りたいことや興味に答えているでしょうか。どんな文章が理解を深め、どんな内容・書き方が理解を妨げるのでしょう。観光用資料の翻訳・編集/校閲・執筆はどのように改善できるでしょうか。参加者のみなさん、ガイドブック・観光パンフレット・博物館や美術館の解説資料・看板などを持ち寄り、そういうものを作成したご経験から話してださい。それらを共有し、知恵や課題を分かち合って各自の仕事の質を改善していきましょう。

December's Early Bird Talk Shop Special

With Leza Lowitz and Holly Thompson

Date: December 5, 2017 (Tues.)
Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m. (Doors open for visiting at 6:00)
Place: Books on Japan (library), Jinbocho, Tokyo;
At the Jinbocho subway stop, go out the A2 exit; at street level, turn left, go 12 steps, and look for a doorway at the left side of the Megane Drug メガネ・ドラッグ store saying “Books on Japan”; take the stairs to the 2nd floor.
RSVP: Space is limited; please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us at SWET Events.
Fee: Free of charge for SWET, JAT, and SCBWI members; ¥500 for non-members

Verse is a powerful vehicle for transporting readers across international borders. These two authors of middle grade and young-adult verse novels set outside the United States, or between cultures, will discuss the medium of verse as a means of allowing readers to connect with stories set in other countries and cultures. The emotional resonance and multicultural reach of poetry makes verse an expressive bridge for conveying readers into tales encompassing cultures, nations, landscapes, and languages around the globe. Discussion followed by Q & A. 

About the panelists:

Leza Lowitz
Leza Lowitz is the author of Up from the Sea, (a YA verse novel about the Japan 3/11 tsunami, which received the Work in Progress Honor from SCBWI), Here Comes the Sun: A Memoir, and Jet Black and the Ninja Wind (Winner of the APALA Asian/Pacific America Award in YA Literature), among 18 other books. She has received the PEN Fiction Award, PEN Josephine Miles Award, NEA/NEH grants, and Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Award.

Holly Thompson
Holly Thompson is the author of the verse novels Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth, The Language Inside, and Orchards. Winner of the APALA Asian/Pacific America Award in YA Literature and a Freeman Book Award, she teaches writing at Yokohama City University, UC Berkeley, and Boston’s GrubStreet.

With Wendy Uchimura

Date: June 21, 2017 (Wed.)
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:00 for visiting)
Place: Books on Japan (library), Jinbocho, Tokyo;
At the Jinbocho subway stop, go out the A2 exit; at street level, turn left, go 12 steps, and look for a doorway at the left side of the Megane Drug メガネ・ドラッグ store saying “Books on Japan”; take the stairs to the 2nd floor. 
RSVP: Space is limited; please let us know if you are coming. E-mail us here.
Fee: Free of charge; feel free to bring a bento or snack to eat during the first hour while we catch up on news and swap stories. The workshop will begin at 7:00.

Yokohama-based translator Wendy Uchimura will share insights from her current experience in translation with an introduction to the world of licensing. How does overseas character and brand artwork get on to apparel in Japan and what language is involved in the process that spans the legal, design, production, and marketing fields? She will describe the importance of maintaining brand and character image and explore localization issues that occur particularly in the world of fashion.

SWET Kanto Summer Party and Book Fair: Special Guest Fred Schodt
 

Highlight your summer with an afternoon in good company, sharing the pleasures and surprises of potluck and refreshments, hearing the story of a veteran wordsmith's career that speaks to all our professions, and replenishing your good-reading shelf from boxes of trade fiction and non-fiction sold on behalf of SWET members.

Date: July 16, 2017 (Sun.)
Time: 1:00–6:00 p.m.
Place: Shimazono House, 3-3-3 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo (see verbal directions below)
Fee:  No charge, but please bring along some food and/or drink for the potluck.
RSVP: Reservations are not required, but it would be helpful to know who is coming, especially if you have something special in mind in the potluck department.
 
1:00–5:00 p.m.
Potluck Summer Party
Networking and Visiting
Please bring one dish or simple snack to share and drinks for yourself and/or to share to contribute to the sideboard.

2:00–5:45 p.m.
Book Fair
Restock for Good Summer Reading ** please note changed prices! **
A sale of trade fiction, non-fiction, and mysteries collected from SWET members will be held. 200 yen for mass market, older books; 300 yen for tradebook fiction and mysteries; 400 yen for non-fiction paperback and hardbacks; 300 yen for children’s books.
.

3:30–5:15 p.m. **note time change!**
Conversation with Frederik L. Schodt 
Stories from a Cross-Cultural Surfer
Writer and SWET stalwart Leza Lowitz will power this conversation with an old friend of SWET, a scholar, writer, interpreter, translator, and authority on Japanese comics, about translating manga and non-fiction, writing books, and more about his 40-year career. 
 
The Venue 
The Shimazono House provides a conveniently located and elegant venue for our gathering. (Some may recall the pleasant gathering SWET held at this venue in 2003.) The 84-year-old house is privately maintained and opened to the public twice monthly under the supervision of a volunteer association, the Bunkyo Link for Architectural Preservation (Japanese website: たてもの応援団, with a page about the Shimazono House, 島薗邸). We'll want to be gentle with its antique furnishings and woodwork. With numerous finely appointed rooms, the house offers many quiet corners to pause and catch up with old friends and colleagues. Take this chance to reconnect in a classic wayo-setchu dwelling that evokes the history of the Yamanote area. Just down the street is the Yasuda Kusuo House, another fine old house that is a must-see in the area.

Directions
The Shimazono House (see address above) is a 7-minute walk from Sendagi stop (No. 1 exit) on the Chiyoda Subway Line; a 15-minute walk from Nippori or Nishi-Nippori stations on the JR line. From Dangozaka-shita intersection on Shinobazu-dori (at the No. 1 exit end of the station), climb Dangozaka hill to the Dangozaka-ue intersection; turn right; look for the old Meiji-era house that stands on the corner of the second lane to the right. There is an elevator from the platform to ground level. The Dangozaka hill is rather steep.

For more information, contact SWET.

Date: April 23, 2017 (Sunday)
Time: 2:30–5:00 p.m. (doors open, networking at 2:00)
Place: TKP Kyoto Shijo Karasuma Conference Center, Conference Room 2A
Fee: ¥1,000 for SWET or JAT members; ¥2,000 for non-members
Reservation and Inquiries (日本語 ok): SWET Kansai
Access: http://www.kashikaigishitsu.net/facilitys/cc-kyoto-shijokarasuma/access/
京都府京都市下京区仏光寺通室町東入釘隠町247番コーエーレオ
To be followed by dinner and drinks afterwards. Please indicate if you will attend.

Topic: “Adventures in Filmland”

Drawing from her thirty years of working with Japanese filmmakers from New Wave to social satire to searing portraits to animation, Beth Cary will discuss her experiences in presenting the Japanese vision abroad. These include the background work of translation of original works, interviews, press materials; interpretation for interviews, screenings, research, business meetings; editing of compendiums on Japanese film and animation. She has worked with directors such as Shinoda Masahiro, Itami Juzo, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Miyazaki Hayao, Takahata Isao. This has culminated in four years in a row of interpreting for Studio Ghibli filmmaker nominees at the Oscar Week Animation Night. Cary finds that delving into the thought process behind the films is key to assisting filmmakers as they convey their artistic intentions to worldwide audiences.

Speaker Profile:

Beth Cary
Interpreter and translator Beth Cary was born and raised in Kyoto and now lives and works in the San Francisco Bay area. She has interpreted for many Japanese filmmakers, including Studio Ghibli’s Miyazaki Hayao, Takahata Isao, and Suzuki Toshio. She co-translated Miyazaki’s two giant volumes of interviews and essays, Starting Point: 1979-1996, and Turning Point: 1997-2008 with Frederik Schodt. Her editing work includes Stone Bridge Press books Anime Encyclopedia 2 and 3 (Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy), two books on Samurai films (Patrick Galloway), A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors (Alexander Jacoby), and The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film (Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp).

Workshop: Cultural Translation and the Information Gap

Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:00 p.m. for visiting)
Place: Books on Japan (library), Jinbocho, Tokyo; at the Jinbocho subway stop, go out the A2 exit; at street level, turn left, go 12 steps, and look for a doorway at the left side of the Megane Drug メガネ・ドラッグ store saying “Books on Japan”; take the stairs to the 2nd floor. http://www.booksonjapan.org/location/
Fee: Free of charge
RSVP: This workshop will be limited to 9 participants, who will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Reserve your place in advance at SWET. As of May 9, seats are still available! Please don't hesitate to get in touch with us.

Japanese and English readers come from different cultural backgrounds. References that are familiar to the former, whether from tradition or popular culture, may baffle the latter. Translator Richard Medhurst works for the website Nippon.com, which translates articles focused on Japan into English and other languages. At the May Talk Shop, he will lead a workshop tackling cultural translation for the general reader, considering how to handle the “information gap” between the two kinds of readers.

Please sign up at events[at]swet.jp in advance as places in the room are limited. Those who have signed up will receive a copy of the sample texts to be translated and discussed by about a week before the workshop.

Date: April 15, 2017 (Saturday)
Time: 4:00–6:00 p.m. (doors open, networking at 3:00)
Place: Room 205, Wesley Center, 6-10-11, Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0062. Access map here.
Fee: ¥500 SWET/JAT/SCBWI members; ¥1,000 non-members
Reservation and Inquiries: SWET

Topic:
From opposite shores of the Pacific, Taro Goto and Beth Cary support the presentation of Japanese filmmakers and works on Japan. Cary has translated background works and interviews that delve into the thought process behind films of directors; while Goto has worked on production and subtitling, and often interprets at film showings. At times they have happened to work on the same films, at different stages. Cary will relate her experiences with directors such as Shinoda Masahiro, Itami Juzo, Koreeda Hirokazu, Miyazaki Hayao, Takahata Isao. Goto will also discuss his approach to subtitling, keeping in mind knowing the audience, readability, characterization, and serving the vision of the film.   

Profiles of the Speakers

Beth Cary
Interpreter and translator Beth Cary, who was born and reared in Kyoto and now lives and works in the San Francisco Bay area. She has interpreted for many Japanese filmmakers, including Studio Ghibli’s Miyazaki Hayao, Takahata Isao, and Suzuki Toshio, at their presentations and programs related to the Academy Awards for the past four years. She co-translated Miyazaki’s two giant volumes of interviews and essays, Starting Point: 1979-1996, and Turning Point: 1997-2008 with Frederik Schodt. Her editing work includes Anime Encyclopedia 3 and several other books on Japanese film and culture.

Taro Goto
Subtitlist, interpreter, and film producer, Taro Goto is a Japanese American from southern California who is now based in Tokyo. He has subtitled over 70 Japanese feature films and 30 TV documentaries, and has interpreted for directors, actors, and other film professionals at film festivals and press conferences as well as on set. He has been involved in the production of films in various capacities, including the documentaries White Light/Black Rain (co-producer) and Mifune: The Last Samurai (producer). He helped develop the Japanese-English curriculum at the Japan Visualmedia Translation Academy, where he also served as instructor.

Visitor: Katherine (Roo) Heins, freelance editor, proofreader, tea ceremony teacher and martial artist.

Date: March 15, 2017 (Wed.)
Time: 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Place: Books on Japan (library), Jinbocho, Tokyo;
At the Jinbocho subway stop, go out the A2 exit; at street level, turn left, go 12 steps, and look for a doorway at the left side of the Megane Drug メガネ・ドラッグ store saying “Books on Japan”; the "SWET" sign will be on the doorway; take the stairs to the 2nd floor. http://www.booksonjapan.org/location/
Fee: Free of charge; feel free to bring a bento or snack to eat while we catch up on news and swap stories. More formal discussion begins at 7:00.
RSVP: Space is limited, so please let us know if you plan to come by dropping us a line at Events

Professional editor Roo Heins, Tokyo-based SWET stalwart in the 2006-2011 period, now edits and proofreads for a wide variety of clients from her base in northern Michigan. In 2016 she traveled literally around the world in 80-plus days, through Japan, China, Mongolia, Russia, Europe...and back to Michigan, while editing four books. How did she do it? What do you need? We'll get her to transport us out of our routines with tales of a traveling editor at this month’s Talk Shop.

Ideas and Plans for 2017

• Events (plenty of ideas*; making them happen)
• Greater interactivity on the SWET website
• Compiling Wordcraft: The SWET Files 2017

Date: February 22, 2017 (Wed.)
Time: 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Place: Books on Japan (library), Jinbocho, Tokyo.
At the Jinbocho subway stop, go out the A2 exit; at street level, turn left, go 12 steps, and look for a doorway with a small flag over it saying “Books on Japan”; take the stairs to the 2nd floor. http://www.booksonjapan.org/location/
Fee: Free of charge; feel free to bring a bento or snack to eat while we catch up on news and swap stories. More formal discussion begins at 7:00.
RSVP: Space is limited, so please let us know if you plan to come by dropping us a line at SWET Events

Please help us think what SWET should do in the coming months. How can SWET enrich the worth of your membership? What articles and resources would enliven our website and answer your frequently asked questions?

You and your ideas, energy, and wordsmithing needs are what keep SWET ticking through the year. Even if you are far away and can't attend this meeting, you can participate in SWET activities. Let us know of your interest by email.

Presenter: Alex Farrell

Date: February 12, 2017 (Sunday)
Time: 2:00–5:00 p.m. (followed by dinner nearby; details to follow)
Place: Room 1, TKP Kyoto Shijo-Karasuma Kaigishitsu, Imon-Shijo Bldg, 7F (access map: http://www.kashikaigishitsu.net/facilitys/kg-kyoto-shijokarasuma/access/)
Fee: ¥1,000 SWET/JAT members; 1,500 yen JTF members, 2,500 yen non-members
Reservation and Inquiries: (SWET Kansai)
Contact: SWET Kansai (Please indicate if you are also interested in attending the post-talk dinner.)

Are you looking for translation work in Japan? Although you may have little problem finding opportunities in this market, if you have joined our profession recently then you might be wondering about a few things: Should I work with agencies or find my own clients?  If I work with an agency, how do I keep them happy, maximize my income and maintain the proper relationship with them?  This presentation will cover these topics and more to help you establish professional relationships with Japanese agencies in a manner that is fulfilling and rewarding for both you and these companies. Although this event is primarily geared toward relatively new translators, our more well-traveled colleagues are also welcome to come join and share their own experiences and insights. It will be a great opportunity to boost our collective professionalism to the benefit of us all.

About the presenter: Alex Farrell is a Kyoto-based translator originally from Austin, Texas. After a five-year stint teaching English, he made the jump to freelance translation nine years ago and hasn't looked back since. He considers himself a generalist translator (with the exception of patents). Over that time Alex has fielded inquiries from and/or gone through registration processes with—and occasionally even worked for—over 100 agencies, most of which are located in Japan.

Another year is drawing to a close, and it’s time for the annual gathering of local wordsmiths. Catch up with friends and colleagues, and make new acquaintances and connections. If you’re interested in getting into the translation, interpreting and editing industry, this is a good opportunity to network and get advice from your sempai in the field. Of course, partners and friends are very welcome, too.

Venue: Shinya, Umeda, Osaka (B1F or Dai-2 Ekimae Building)
Access: 5–10 mins’ walk from all major stations in Umeda (大阪市北区梅田1丁目2-2大阪駅前第2ビル地下1階52号) (map)
Date: Sunday December 18, 2016; 6−8 p.m. (Note: We can stay on at the restaurant after 8, but everyone would be required to buy at least one drink.)
Cost: 4,500 yen
Reservations: SWET Kansai (Please tell us if you are vegetarian, so we can accommodate you.)
Deadline: Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Cancellations: Cancel after this date, and you may need to pay if the restaurant requests us to pay.
Note: Indicating that you are attending on Facebook does not necessarily ensure you a place, so please email us.

We look forward to seeing you there.
 

Date: December 26, 2016 (Monday)
Time: 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Fee: Potluck and BYOB
RSVP: Please let us know you are coming!
Place: Sumida Riverside Tower, 2F Meeting Room, Shinkawa 1-28-7, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-003. About 10 minutes walk from Kayabacho (Hibiya and Tozai Line) or Hatchobori (Hibiya Line or JR Keiyo Line) subway stations. Buses from Tokyo Station, Nihonbashi, etc., less than 1,000 yen by taxi. [Map]

Help bring SWET's 36th year to a merry and convivial end by joining us for potluck, BYOB, show-and-tell, and networking. Bring books, magazines, brochures, etc., to show what you have been doing through the year or slides of projects you're engaged in to add to the projected visuals. Take this chance to close ranks with others in the SWET community at the close of a busy year.

Planning for this event is in the works! Please let us know if you can come and also if you are interested in helping with the planning at events@swet.jp. 

WHEN: Friday, November 4, 2016 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
WHERE: Chinatown Restaurant, 744 Washington Street, San Francisco
COST: $58.62 per person (includes tax, gratuity, fees)

Make your reservation at:
    http://2016jldnetworkingdinner.eventbrite.com

Professional Proofreading, "Koetsu Gal," and Us

If you feel that your arts and your angst as a proofreader or copyeditor never get any respect or appreciation, think of SWET as a community that is there for you. The currently running NTV weekly drama “Koetsu Gal” might even raise a small amount of awareness about our craft. 
    Whether we translate, edit, or write, we all don the proofreader’s or copyeditor's hat now and then, and have our own means and methods. “Proofreading” in Japan is not always what it is in the Anglophone world. As we negotiate the realms of “kōetsu,” kōsei,” proofreading, and copyediting, what can we learn from each other and from the experts to make our work better? Join an evening to share tips, pick up new tricks of the trade, network, and tell stories.

Date: November 16, 2016 (Wednesday)
Time: 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
We invite you to bring a bento or snack to eat together round the table while we visit and get to know each other. More formal discussion begins at 7:00.
Place: Books on Japan (library), Jinbocho, Tokyo;
At the Jinbocho subway stop, go out the A2 exit; at street level, turn left, go 12 steps, and look for a doorway with a small flag over it saying “Books on Japan”; take the stairs to the 2nd floor. http://www.booksonjapan.org/location/
Fee: Free of charge
RSVP: Please let us know if you plan to come by dropping us a line at events@swet.jp

Bring your professional news and views, entertaining stories, wonderings, and woes for a workout among wordsmiths. Join us, where the paths of editors, translators, and writers cross at the quiet Books on Japan library in Jinbocho.

Date: October 19, 2016 (Wednesday)
Time: 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Place: Books on Japan (library), Jinbocho, Tokyo;
At the Jinbocho subway stop, go out the A2 exit; at street level, turn left, go 12 steps, and look for a doorway with a small flag over it saying “Books on Japan”; take the stairs to the 2nd floor. http://www.booksonjapan.org/location/
Fee: Free of charge
RSVP: Please let us know if you plan to come by dropping us a line at events@swet.jp

Discounted for SWET Members

Date: October 22, 2016
Place: Yokohama International School, Yokohama
Fee: Advance registration 3,500 yen for current SCBWI or SWET members; 5,000 yen for nonmembers. At the door 4,500 yen for current SCBWI or SWET members; 6,000 yen for nonmembers.

Advance registrations and translations of workshop texts due by Friday, October 7, 2016.

SCBWI Japan announces Translation Day 2016, a biennial, one-day event for translators of Japanese children’s literature into English—this year including both prose and manga.

Ginny Tapley Takemori, translator of The Secret of the Blue Glass by Tomiko Inui and The Whale that Fell in Love with a Submarine by Akiyuki Nosaka, will offer a solo talk and a translation workshop. Zack Davisson, translator of the manga series Kitaro and Showa: A History of Japan by Shigeru Mizuki, will joust with Alexander O. Smith, translator of Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe, via Skype. Yumiko Sakuma, translator and critic, will give an expert overview of Japanese children’s/YA publishing today and tomorrow. And Julia Marshall, founder of Gecko Press in New Zealand, will give a video glimpse of how she acquires “curiously good books from around the world.”

Join us! Details about advance registration, the full schedule, and more are here: https://japan.scbwi.org/events/scbwi-japan-translation-day-2016/

Presenter: Susan Jones
Date: September 25, 2016 (Sunday)
Time: 2:30–5:00 p.m. (followed by early dinner nearby, details to follow)
Place: 西宮市国際交流協会, Frente Nishinomiya 4F (Just south of JR Nishonomiya Sta.) (Map)
Fee: 1,000 yen SWET/JAT members, 1,500 yen JTF members, 2,000 yen non-members
Reservation and inquiries: SWET Kansai (Please indicate if you are also interested in attending the post-talk dinner.)

With Japan looking ahead to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, the demand for competent translators and interpreters is on the rise. Colleges and universities are scrambling to meet this need, but find themselves in uncharted territory when trying to organize a translation discipline within linguistics departments. Who is qualified to teach translation? What sort of materials should be used? How should students’ work be evaluated? How can students gain professional experience before leaving the university with diploma in hand? These questions and more are at the heart of discussions in faculty meetings across the country.

Susan E. Jones has had the privilege of teaching J—>E translation and interpretation at Kobe College for ten years, while simultaneously working as a freelance translator. In 2017 she joins the faculty fulltime, focusing on the enhancement of the college’s translation and interpretation program. Join us for a presentation about the current state of translation education in Japan and a discussion of what you think every student translator should know when she steps off campus and into the world of professional translation.

With Robert Blasiak and Stuart Ayre

Date: October 23, 2016 (Sunday)
Time: 2:30–5 p.m. (followed by early dinner nearby, details to follow)
Place: Room 3, TKP Kyoto Shijo-Karasuma Kaigishitsu, Imon-Shijo Bldg 7F (Map)
Fee: 1,000 yen SWET/JAT members, 1,500 yen JTF members, 2,500 yen non-members
Reservation and inquiries: SWET Kansai (Please indicate if you are also interested in attending the post-talk dinner.)
 

This SWET talk will feature presentations by German-to-English translator (Robert Blasiak) and illustrator (Stuart Ayre) of Kellermann’s 1910 account Ein Spaziergang in Japan (A Walk in Japan), published by Fine Line Press earlier in 2015. The travelogue conjures up the sights, sounds, and smells of a world beyond living memory. When aspiring German author Bernhard Kellermann arrived in late-Meiji-era Japan, he drank deeply of a country in transition, wandering the streets of rural fishing towns, falling in love with village beauties, and spending many an afternoon recording in exquisite detail the performances in local theaters.

Sketch of the illustrator at work, imagined in the historical era of A Walk in Japan. (c) Sketch by Stuart Ayre.

In the first part, scholar and translator Robert Blasiak will explain some of the challenges of rendering a readable and enjoyable translation. Key points will be highlighted with excerpts from the final book A Walk in Japan: The 1910 Travelogue of Bernhard Kellermann. In the second part, SWET member, translator, and illustrator Stuart Ayre will talk about how he translated the words of the book into illustrations and introduce the art that influenced the illustrations. He will also talk about working as an illustrator on a book-illustration project.

A question-and-answer session and mixer will follow the talk at the same venue, and illustrations from the book and other artwork and prints by Stuart Ayre will be on display.

At this time of year in Japan, all you can think about is how to keep cool. When you live in the countryside, there must be a very good reason to go into the city, even a city as wonderful as Kobe. If you already live within city confines, you need a good reason to move from under the air conditioner. Here is that good reason for everyone—an enticing and cooling one.

When was the last time you went to Harborland Mosaic? It's that place right by the water opposite Kobe Port Tower where there's plenty of outdoor space to chat and chill over a cold beverage...but that's AFTER our summer party scheduled for: Saturday, August 27th, 7:00 p.m. Set the date and make your reservation, because we're expecting it to be...in Bernie Sanders' words…yuuuuge! (That's "huge" for those not in the know.) Time to gather, eat great Brazilian food, talk translation, drink, talk wordsmithing, drink, talk politics, talk watermelon, whatever. Think cooling thoughts and that's what happens. See you at the Kansai summer party.

Date: Saturday, August 27, 2016
Time: 7–9 p.m.
Place: Brasiliano, 3F Mosaic, Kobe (about 10 min. on foot from JR Kobe Sta.) Map
Price: 4,500 yen (All-you-can-eat churrasco and buffet, and all-you-can-drink)
RSVP: SWET Kansai, by midnight Wednesday, August 24, or when all 39 seats filled. [Note: A Facebook "Going" does not count.]
Cancellations: Payment may be required for cancellations after midnight on Aug. 24.

Date: Sunday, July 24, 2016
Time: 5:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Place: Koishikawa Korakuen Garden (Iidabashi area; see here for a map and how to get there by train or subway)
Fee: Free of charge
RSVP: By July 23, 2016 (Saturday) to events@swet.jp

We will have the use of the large dining room at the Kantokutei restaurant, at the entrance to the garden. The party will be “potluck”* and BYOB. Please bring something to contribute to the nibbles and beverages so that we can enjoy and share dishes and drinks of our own choice. SWET will provide paper cups, chopsticks, plates, and napkins. Participants will be asked to help with clean-up and disposal of trash.

* Please note: “Potluck” can mean whatever portable snack or dish you can bring to contribute to the feast given your circumstances at the time--not just home-prepared dishes, but a block of cheese, a bunch of grapes, a bag of potato chips, a loaf of bread, a bottle or package of pickles, a package of luncheon meat, something from the o-sozai section of the supermarket, etc. The pleasure of potluck is seeing what comes together.

As the food is sure to come together, do take this chance to: enjoy a pre-party stroll around one of Tokyo’s nicest landscape gardens (the entrance fee is ¥300*), which will be pleasant in the late afternoon of a hot July day; call on far-flung friends to meet up in central Tokyo; and gather with other wordsmiths for stimulating conversation and networking. 

* Please note also: Entry to the garden is only possible until 4:30 p.m.

SWET held its 2009 summer party at Koishikawa Korakuen with a talk by Enbutsu Sumiko. The article about that event includes information about this venue. Our 2014 Summer Party at Kantokutei was attended by 25 people.