John Bester (1927-2010), born and educated in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, was one of the foremost

translators Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

of modern Japanese fiction. He was a graduate of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

Works

* ''Classic Bonsai of Japan'' (New York: Kodansha International, 1989, ).

Translations

Among his translations are: * ''Masterworks of

Ukiyo-E Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk ...

Utamaro Kitagawa Utamaro ( ja, 喜多川歌麿; – 31 October 1806) was a Japanese artist. He is one of the most highly regarded designers of ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, and is best known for his '' bijin ōkubi-e'' "large-head ...

'' by Muneshige Narazaki and Sadao Kikuchi (translation published in 1968). * '' Black Rain'' by Masuji Ibuse (translation published in 1969). * '' Sun and Steel'' by

Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered fo ...

(autobiography, translation published in 1970). * ''

The Waiting Years ''The Waiting Years'' (originally published under the title 女坂 ''Onnazaka'') is a novel by Fumiko Enchi, set within the milieu of an upper-class Japanese family in the last years of the 19th century. It was first published in 1957 and won the ...

'' by

Fumiko Enchi was the pen-name of Fumiko Ueda, one of the most prominent Japanese women writers in the Shōwa period of Japan. As a writer, Enchi is best known for her explorations into the ideas of sexuality, gender, human identity, and spirituality. Ear ...

(translation published in 1971). * ''

The Anatomy of Dependence is a 1971 book by Japanese psychoanalyst Takeo Doi, discussing at length Doi's concept of ''amae'', which he describes as a uniquely Japanese need to be in good favor with, and be able to depend on, the people around oneself. He likens this to ...

'' by Takeo Doi (translation published in 1973). * ''

The Silent Cry ''The Silent Cry'' (Japanese 万延元年のフットボール; ''Man'nen gan'nen no futtoboru'', literally ''Football in the First Year of Man'en'') is a novel by Japanese author Kenzaburō Ōe, first published in Japanese in 1967 and awarded th ...

'' by

Kenzaburō Ōe is a Japanese writer and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His novels, short stories and essays, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues, i ...

(translation published in 1974). * '' The Dark Room'' by

Junnosuke Yoshiyuki was a Japanese novelist and short-story writer, and a member of the so-called " Third Generation of Postwar Writers" (第3の新人). Life Yoshiyuki was born in Okayama, the oldest child of author Yoshiyuki Eisuke, but his family moved to Tok ...

(translation published in 1975). * ''

The Reluctant Admiral ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

'' by Hiroyuki Agawa (biography of

Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed. Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...

, commander in chief of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

, translation published in 1979) * ''

Salamander and Other Stories Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

'' by Masuji Ibuse (translation published in 1981). * '' Acts of Worship: Seven Stories'' by Yukio Mishima (translation published in 1989). * ''

Once and Forever, the tales of Kenji Miyazawa Once means a one-time occurrence. Once may refer to: Music * ''Once'' (Pearl Jam song), a 1991 song from the album ''Ten'' * ''Once'' (Roy Harper album), a 1990 album by Roy Harper * ''Once'' (The Tyde album), a 2001 debut album by The Tyd ...

'' by

Kenji Miyazawa was a Japanese novelist and poet of children's literature from Hanamaki, Iwate, in the late Taishō and early Shōwa periods. He was also known as an agricultural science teacher, a vegetarian, cellist, devout Buddhist, and utopian social ...

(includes

Gauche the Cellist is a short story by the Japanese author Kenji Miyazawa. It is about Gauche, a struggling small-town cellist who is inspired by his interactions with anthropomorphized animals to gain insight into music. The story has been translated into English, ...

, translation published in 1993). * ''

Confessions of a Yakuza is a book by Japanese doctor and author Junichi Saga (1991). It recounts a series of stories from the life of his patient Eiji Ijichi, a former Yakuza boss, as told in the last months of his life. The book starts with the teenage Ijichi runn ...

'' by Junichi Saga (reminiscenes of a

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

boss, translation published in 1995. *''

A Boy Called H is a 2013 Japanese war drama film directed by Yasuo Furuhata. It is based on the book by Kappa Senoh, translated into English by John Bester. Cast *Yutaka Mizutani *Ran Ito * Tatsuki Yoshioka Reception Box office The film grossed US$15.3 milli ...

'' by Kappa Senoh, translation published in 1999. John Bester received the 1990

Noma Award The Noma Prizes were established by Shoichi Noma, or in his honor. More than one award is conventionally identified as the ''Noma Prize''. Noma was the former head of Kodansha, the Japanese publishing and bookselling company. Kodansha is Japan's ...

for the Translation of Japanese Literature for '' Acts of Worship''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bester, John 1927 births Alumni of SOAS University of London English translators Japanese–English translators 2010 deaths English male non-fiction writers 20th-century British translators