In December 2020, Kazuko Matsuoka (translator and theatre critic) completed the translation of Shakespeare’s 37 plays with the completion of All’s Well That Ends Well. She is the third Japanese to translate all of Shakespeare’s plays, following Shoyo Tsubouchi and Yuushi Odashima, and the first woman to do so. So far, various features on Ms. Matsuoka have been organized in newspapers, television, and magazines, but no exhibition has yet been held that highlights her translation activities.
Ms. Matsuoka’s translation of Shakespeare’s plays continues to evolve, going back and forth between the pages (the study) and the stage (the performance stage and the rehearsal room). It is worth noting that the translation is a collaborative effort with the director and actors, and is presented in a more natural Japanese language for those of us ‘Living in the Present’. If we try to read it out loud, images of the scenes as depicted by Shakespeare will come to mind. The translations and footnotes of the Chikuma Bunko version have increased in density with each reprint, and overflow with Ms. Matsuoka’s passion for Shakespeare’s plays.
The 2022 Special Exhibition ‘Words, words, words ——Kazuko Matsuoka and Her Translation of Shakespeare’s Plays’ at the Tsubouchi Memorial Museum, Waseda University, is being held to commemorate Ms. Matsuoka’s achievement in completing the translation of Shakespeare’s 37 plays. The trajectory of Ms. Matsuoka’s 28 years of confronting Shakespeare’s words is traced through handwritten translation notes, translation manuscripts, and performance scripts. Along with stage photos, leaflets, and posters, we will also introduce episodes with directors and actors who have deep connections with Ms. Matsuoka. This exhibition aims to introduce the appeal of Ms. Matsuoka’s translation to a broader audience, and to connect the new page that Ms. Matsuoka has added to the history of the reception, translation, and performance of Shakespeare’s plays in Japan to the future.
Ms. Matsuoka describes Shakespeare as a playwright who ‘accepts human beings in their entirety, including their stupidity’ (from the performance program for All’s Well That Ends Well in the Sai no Kuni Shakespeare Series). We hope that through Ms. Matsuoka’s translations, even those who are unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s plays will be able to feel the energy that ‘accepts’ human beings emanating from his rich words.
