Frederik L. Schodt (born January 22, 1950) is an American translator, interpreter and writer.

Biography

Schodt's father was in the US foreign service, and he grew up in Norway, Australia, and Japan. The family first went to Japan in 1965 when Schodt was fifteen. They left in 1967, but Schodt remained to graduate from

American School in Japan The American School in Japan (ASIJ; ja, アメリカンスクール・イン・ジャパン) is an international private day school located in the city of Chōfu, Tokyo, Japan. The school consists of an elementary school, a middle school, and a ...

in Tokyo in 1968. After entering the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

(UCSB), in 1970, Schodt returned to Japan and studied Japanese intensively at

International Christian University is a non-denominational private university located in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, commonly known as ICU. With the efforts of Prince Takamatsu, General Douglas MacArthur, and BOJ President Hisato Ichimada, ICU was established in 1949 as the first l ...

(ICU) for a year and half. He graduated from UCSB in 1972, and after a brief

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

stint at a variety of jobs and traveling, he became a tour guide in Los Angeles for Japanese tourists, also escorting them to Canada and Mexico. After trying to interpret for a group once at Sunkist, he realized that he could become an interpreter, but needed further training. In 1975, he was awarded a scholarship from Japan's Ministry of Education, to return to ICU and study translation and interpreting. After finishing his studies at ICU in 1977, he began working in the translation department of Simul International, in Tokyo. In mid-1978, he returned to the United States, and since then has worked in San Francisco as a freelance writer, translator, and interpreter. While working in Tokyo in 1977, he joined with several university friends in contacting

Tezuka Productions is a Japanese animation studio founded by Osamu Tezuka in 1968. It is known for animating notable works such as ''Marvelous Melmo'', the 1980 and 2003 ''Astro Boy'' series, and '' Black Jack''. It is also the holder of the intellectual property ...

. They sought permission to translate the ''

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

'' comic into English. Schodt is notable in manga and

anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...

fandom for his translations of works such as Osamu Tezuka's ''

'', Tezuka's ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 '' tankōbon'' ...

'',

Riyoko Ikeda is a Japanese manga artist and singer. She is included in the Year 24 Group, by some, although her status as one of them has been debated due to a focus more on epic stories than the internal psychology of those mangaka. She was one of the most ...

's ''

The Rose of Versailles , also known as ''Lady Oscar'' and ''La Rose de Versailles'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Riyoko Ikeda. It was originally serialized in the manga magazine ''Margaret'' from 1972 to 1973, while a revival of the ser ...

'',

Keiji Nakazawa was a Japanese manga artist and writer. Biography Nakazawa was born March 14, 1939 Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan and was in the city when it was destroyed by an atomic bomb in August 1945. Most of his family members who had not evacuated died as ...

's ''

Barefoot Gen is a Japanese historical manga series by Keiji Nakazawa. Loosely based on Nakazawa's own experiences as a Hiroshima survivor, the series begins in 1945 in and around Hiroshima, Japan, where the six-year-old boy Gen Nakaoka liv ...

'', Henry Yoshitaka Kiyama's ''

The Four Immigrants Manga ''The Four Immigrants Manga'' (1931), also known as , is a Japanese-language manga written and illustrated by Henry Kiyama (born , 1885–1951). It is an early example of autobiographical comics. The manga was created around 1924–1927 as 52 " ...

'' and others. His best known book is ''

Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics ''Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics'' is a 1983 book by Frederik L. Schodt. Published by the Japanese publisher Kodansha, it was the first substantial English-language work on Japanese comics, or ''manga'', as an artistic, literary, com ...

'', published in 1983 and reprinted several times, with an

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

by Tezuka. ''Manga! Manga!'' won a prize at the ''Manga Oscar Awards'' in 1983. Furthermore, in 2000 Schodt was awarded the

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition a ...

's Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize "Special Prize" for his outstanding contribution to the appreciation of manga worldwide.

Honors

* 1983 – Japan Cartoonists Association's Manga Oscar, Special Award, for ''

''. * 2000 –

's Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize "Special Prize" for outstanding contribution to the appreciation of manga worldwide. * 2009 – 旭日小綬章. Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette. * 2009 – Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs International Manga Award, Special Category, for helping to promote manga overseas. * 2013 – Circus Historical Society's Stuart Thayer Prize for superior work, for Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe. * 2016 –

Ranald MacDonald Ranald MacDonald (February 3, 1824 – August 24, 1894) was the first native English-speaker to teach the English language in Japan, including educating Einosuke Moriyama, one of the chief interpreters to handle the negotiations between Co ...

Award for Lifetime Achievement, especially for work, Native American in the Land of the Shogun: Ranald MacDonald and the Opening of Japan. * 2017 – Japan Foundation Award.

Selected works

Schodt has written seven books, translated several novels and manga, and published articles and columns in such newspapers and periodicals as'' ''

Mainichi Daily News The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

, ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched b ...

'', '' Anzen'', ''

Mangajin ''Mangajin'' was a monthly English-language magazine for students of Japanese language and culture by Mangajin, Inc. It was distinct from many other magazines of its type in that it unabashedly embraced Japanese popular culture as a learning to ...

'', '' Japan Related'', '' Animag'', ''

Animerica ''Animerica'' was a monthly magazine published by Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ ...

'' and others. * ''

''. Kodansha International, 1983. * '' Inside the Robot Kingdom: Japan, Mechatronics, and the Coming Robotopia''. Kodansha International, 1988. () * ''America and the Four Japans: Friend, Foe, Model, Mirror''.

Stone Bridge Press Stone Bridge Press, Inc. is a publishing company distributed by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution and founded in 1989. Authors published include Donald Richie and Frederik L. Schodt. Stone Bridge publishes books related to Japan, having pu ...

, 1994. * '' Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga''.

, 1996. * '' Native American in the Land of the Shogun: Ranald MacDonald and the Opening of Japan''.

, 2003. * ''The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution''.

, 2007 () * '' Professor Risley and the Imperial Japanese Troupe''.

, 2012 () * ''

'' (translator) * ''

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the Sun. It is the largest ...

'' (translator) * '' The Ghost in the Shell/Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface/Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human-Error Processor'' (translator) * '' The Osamu Tezuka Story'' (translator) * ''

'' (translator) * ''

Gaku Stories ''Gaku Stories'' (がくものがたり ''Gakumonogatari''), also published under the title ''My Boy: A Father's Memories'', is an I Novel by Japanese author Makoto Shiina. It was published in 1985 by Shueisha. The same publisher also published ...

'' (translator) * ''My Heart Sutra: A World in 260 Characters''

, 2020.

References

External links

Jai2
��his official website *

��''Electric Ant #1''
Interview with Fred Schodt on ''The Astro Boy Essays''
��''Animation Insider'', Sept. 2007

��''The Sci-Fi Block'', Oct. 2009

* ttps://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interview/2009-10-27/interview-fred-schodt Interview: Fred Schodtat Anime News Network, Oct. 2009
Frederik Schodt: Japan's pop culture ambassador...
, ''

'', January 2013
FanimeCon – Day Three – Anime Authors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schodt, Frederik L. American non-fiction writers American School in Japan alumni American translators Anime and manga critics International Christian University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Japanese–English translators Living people Osamu Tezuka Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th class Winner of Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (Special Award) 1950 births