Kenneth Lionel Chatterton Strong (27 June 1925 – 7 December 1990) was a British scholar and translator of Japanese novels.

Biography

Strong was educated at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) 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 area ...

. He received a BA in

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

in 1947 and a MA in 1957 from the former institution and a BA in Japanese in 1951 and a BA in English in 1957 from the latter. Strong served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and arrived in Japan in 1946 as part of Allied forces. He was assistant professor at

Tokyo Woman's Christian University , often abbreviated to TWCU or , is an independent Protestant university in Tokyo, Japan. Founding TWCU was established by Nitobe Inazō (1862–1933), an author, diplomat and educator, who was appointed as the first president in 1918. The firs ...

between 1959 and 1962 and lecturer at

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

between 1963 and 1964. Strong returned to England in 1964 and worked as a lecturer in Japanese at SOAS University of London from 1964 to 1980. During this time he published several praised translations of notable Japanese novels. Strong married in 1953 and had a daughter and a son.

Bibliography

*''Ox against the storm : a biography of Tanaka Shozo - Japan's conservationist pioneer'' (Paul Norbury Publications, 1977) about

Shōzō Tanaka was a Japanese politician and social activist, and is considered to be Japan's first conservationist. Tanaka was politically active in the Meiji Restoration and leader in the Freedom and Popular Rights Movement. In Japan's first general electi ...

Translations

Kitamura Tokoku was the pen name of Kitamura Montarō (北村門太郎), a Japanese poet and essayist. He was one of the founders of the modern Japanese romantic literary movement. Biography Early life From a samurai-class family of Ashigarashimo District, ...

, ''"Shukkonkyō", or The Magic Mirror'' (Monumenta Nipponica, vol 21, No. 3/4, 1966) *

Fumio Niwa was a Japanese novelist with a long list of works, the most famous in the West being his novel ''The Buddha Tree'' (Japanese ''Bodaiju'', "The Linden", or "The Bodhi Tree", 1956). He was ordained as a Shin Buddhist priest in his youth, but aba ...

, ''The Buddha Tree : a novel'' (Tuttle, 1968) * Kenjiro Tokutomi, ''Footprints in the Snow'' ( (Tuttle, 1970) * Kinoshita Naoe, ''Pillar of Fire : Hi no hashira'' (Allen and Unwin, 1972) *

Toson Shimazaki Toson may refer to: * Tōson Shimazaki was the pen-name of Haruki Shimazaki, a Japanese writer active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. He began his career as a Romantic poet, but went on to establish himself as a major ...

, '' The Broken Commandment'' (University of Tokyo Press, 1974) *

Takeo Arishima was a Japanese novelist, short-story writer and essayist during the late Meiji and Taishō periods. His two younger brothers, and , were also authors. His son was the internationally known film and stage actor, Masayuki Mori. Early life Ar ...

, ''

A Certain Woman is the English translation of the name a Japanese novel by Arishima Takeo published in 1919. The first half of the novel first appeared in serialized form in the literary magazine ''Shirakaba '', starting from January 1911 and running for 16 e ...

'' (University of Tokyo Press, 1978)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, Kenneth 1925 births 1990 deaths Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the University of London Academics of the University of London Alumni of SOAS University of London Academics of SOAS University of London Academic staff of the University of Sydney British translators Japanese–English translators