Jisung Kim: At the time I applied, I had already translated about a third. How far along are you with the translation of the novel? I just wanted to translate this novel line-for-line into Japanese, because it is an “outstanding German-language work” not only for German readers and reviewers, but also for myself. More precisely, it was just a coincidence that the prize I wanted to apply for had this requirement and of course it was also a coincidence that the year in which the competition called for applications was the thirtieth anniversary of German reunification.

It was more of a coincidence that the novel that I wanted to translate was about the summer before last of East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Jisung Kim: I didn’t apply for the Kakehashi Literature Prize with my translation of the novel Kruso because it deals with a certain “socio-political issue”. Mr Jisung Kim, the prerequisite for receiving funding from the Kakehashi Literature Prize is “an outstanding German-language work” that deals “with a socio-political issue of the present.” Why did you choose Kruso ?

In the interview, they explain how the rhythm of the work changes in Japanese and what new perspectives on the plot are the result. The 2020 Kakehashi Literature Prize of the German Merck Company and the Goethe-Institut Tokyo has been awarded to the German author Lutz Seiler and the Japanese translator Jisung Kim for the translation of the novel Kruso.

Japanese photo translator