John Nathan (born 1940) is an American translator, writer, scholar,
filmmaker, and Japanologist. His translations from Japanese into
English include the works of Yukio Mishima, KenzaburÅ ÅŒe, KÅ bÅ
Abe, and Natsume SÅ seki. Nathan is also an Emmy Award-winning
producer, writer and director of many films about Japanese culture and
society and American business. He is currently the Takashima Professor
of Japanese Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa
Barbara.Nathan was born in New York City and spent part of his
childhood in Tucson, Arizona. He graduated from Harvard College, where
he studied under Edwin O. Reischauer. Nathan became the first American
to pass the entrance exams of the University of Tokyo and be admitted
as a traditional student. He lived in Tokyo for eight years, and
married a Japanese woman. Nathan later received a doctorate in Far
Eastern languages from Harvard University. He became a professor of
Japanese literature at Princeton University in the 1970s. He is
currently the Takashima Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies at the
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).Nathan's works focus on
Japanese culture, Japanese literature, Japanese cinema, the theory and
practice of translation., and the sociology of business culture.
Nathan first met Yukio Mishima in 1963. In 1965, at the age of 25,
Nathan translated Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the
Sea. Impressed by Nathan's translation, Mishima requested Nathan sign
on as his translator and help Mishima in his quest in being awarded
the Nobel Prize for Literature. Nathan was more interested in
translating the work of KenzaburÅ ÅŒe. Nathan ultimately refused to
translate Mishima's 1964 novel Kinu to meisatsu (絹㠨明察), opting
instead to translate KenzaburÅ ÅŒe's A Personal Matter. Mishima, who
was considered an "arch-rival" of ÅŒe, abruptly severed ties with
Nathan afterwards. In 1974, Nathan authored Mishima: A Biography
(1974), a definitive biography of Yukio Mishima. In 1994, KenzaburÅ
ÅŒe was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature and Nathan accompanied
him to Stockholm.Nathan left Princeton in the late 1970s to pursue
filmmaking. He created three documentaries about the Japanese.
filmmaker, and Japanologist. His translations from Japanese into
English include the works of Yukio Mishima, KenzaburÅ ÅŒe, KÅ bÅ
Abe, and Natsume SÅ seki. Nathan is also an Emmy Award-winning
producer, writer and director of many films about Japanese culture and
society and American business. He is currently the Takashima Professor
of Japanese Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa
Barbara.Nathan was born in New York City and spent part of his
childhood in Tucson, Arizona. He graduated from Harvard College, where
he studied under Edwin O. Reischauer. Nathan became the first American
to pass the entrance exams of the University of Tokyo and be admitted
as a traditional student. He lived in Tokyo for eight years, and
married a Japanese woman. Nathan later received a doctorate in Far
Eastern languages from Harvard University. He became a professor of
Japanese literature at Princeton University in the 1970s. He is
currently the Takashima Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies at the
University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).Nathan's works focus on
Japanese culture, Japanese literature, Japanese cinema, the theory and
practice of translation., and the sociology of business culture.
Nathan first met Yukio Mishima in 1963. In 1965, at the age of 25,
Nathan translated Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the
Sea. Impressed by Nathan's translation, Mishima requested Nathan sign
on as his translator and help Mishima in his quest in being awarded
the Nobel Prize for Literature. Nathan was more interested in
translating the work of KenzaburÅ ÅŒe. Nathan ultimately refused to
translate Mishima's 1964 novel Kinu to meisatsu (絹㠨明察), opting
instead to translate KenzaburÅ ÅŒe's A Personal Matter. Mishima, who
was considered an "arch-rival" of ÅŒe, abruptly severed ties with
Nathan afterwards. In 1974, Nathan authored Mishima: A Biography
(1974), a definitive biography of Yukio Mishima. In 1994, KenzaburÅ
ÅŒe was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature and Nathan accompanied
him to Stockholm.Nathan left Princeton in the late 1970s to pursue
filmmaking. He created three documentaries about the Japanese.
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