The Asian Studies Department of Cornell University is pleased to announce the Kyoko Selden Translation Prize for 2022 in this, our final year of the prize.  As always, we were both educated and inspired by the range of work we received: texts that spanned Japanese writings produced from the 13th to the 21st century in a variety of modes---from individually to collectively written works, and from canonical, marginal, and even anonymous sources. We were gratified by the way this year’s submissions once again resonated with the literary passions and  impressive textual  competencies of our esteemed former colleague, Kyoko Selden. We would also like, on this occasion, to thank the friends, colleagues, and former students of Kyoko’s who contributed to the prize funds, as well as to the Selden family and the Asia Pacific Journal’s Japan Focus for their generosity and support.

In the category of previously published translators, the 2022 award went to Matthew Fraleigh (Associate Professor, Brandeis University)for his translation of Hayashi Kakuryō’s “Record of a Journey that Was More than Mere Diversion” (Kishikairoku), an early Meiji chronicle of the author’s 1871 trip along the Tama River and through the mountains of present-day Okutama, with plentiful allusions to Chinese poetry and literary landscapes. Honorable Mention in this category was  awarded to Lin-shih Loh (Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore)  for her translation of Letters from Iwaki (Iwaki Tsūshin 2012-2014), by Yoshida Hiromi. The letters record Yoshida’s observations in the coastal city of Iwaki, 54 miles south of Fukushima, as she assisted evacuees living for long periods of time displaced from their homes in the areas worst hit by the disasters of 3.11.

The award in the previously unpublished category was given to Yi Deng (Doctoral Candidate, Columbia University), for her translation of chapters from Santō Kyōden ’s profusely illustrated  1806 prose fiction,  Faithful Birds of Sorrow (Utō yasukata chūgiden). The tale narrates fantastic exploits attributed to a daughter and son of Taira Masakado in their quixotic pursuit to avenge their father’s death after the failure of his rebellion in 940.

In this concluding year of our work we would finally like to express our appreciation for all who have participated in the Selden Translation Prize competition, as it has honored and evoked our memories of the deeply intertwined relations between scholarship and translation in Kyoko Selden’s own work.

Student Funding Story: Hear From Our Current Students in the Field

Yuanyuan Duan

Ph.D. Candidate in Asian Literature, Religion, and Culture & Hu Shih Fellowship Awardee

Research: Crossing Boundaries: The "Ācārya" Community in Dali and their Textual Practices, 1382-1500.

A quote from Yuanyuan about her experience:

I am currently in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province in China, conducting archival research for my dissertation project on the Buddhist community named "ācārya” in Dali (southwest China today) in the 14th-16th centuries. Due to COVID restrictions, the archives, libraries, and museums in China could be closed to the public at any time. Such indeterminacy is a big challenge to my work. But I am fortunately granted a very rare opportunity for the physical examination of the medieval Buddhist manuscripts housed in local institutions. The hands-on research on the manuscripts really excites me. For the prospective applicants of EAP fellowships, I would say specifying the purpose and work plan of your project in the proposal is important to the grant application.

Thank you Yuanyuan for sharing your story!

If you would like to join Yuanyuan and pursue your research, apply for EAP Student Funding. The graduate fellowships and Language Study Grant applications are now open and the deadline is January 26th, 2023 at midnight. For more information on current Student Funding Opportunities and how to apply, visit the East Asia Program Funding Page.