Translating Saiyuki: An Examination of Cultural Preservation in an Expanding Marketplace

Abstract

For over ten years, Saiyuki has been a cultural phenomenon. While many manga enjoy mass popularity, both domestically and overseas, Saiyuki has done so while breaking the stereotypes of its genre, creating one entirely in and of itself. While classified overseas as a shonen manga – a story directed at boys, usually composed of a hero fighting against all odds to prove he is the strongest against an unquestionable evil – Minekura's story goes well outside of the expected boundaries and pushes its readers to challenge the established concepts and ideals that come with that particular form. With imperfect and 'damaged' protagonists, with antagonists searching for redemption, and with a series of moral and socially challenging obstacles, Saiyuki presents its fans and readers with a means to examine their culture critically through a popular lens. However, through the process of translation, many manga can lose their cultural impact when brought into English. Many translators focus on maintaining the standards of the genre as created by the marketplace, and in doing so, the work can become overly domesticated. With a series such as Saiyuki, forcing it to conform to the boundaries it so readily stepped outside of would be to strip it of much of the commentary it is attempting to make. Thus, by re-translating the original work, by examining this in comparison to what was published, the changes made can be better scrutinized, analyzed, and the English marketplace can be better understood. This project will compare a more 'faithful' fan translation to the published English translation and attempt to demonstrate how, without conforming to the marketplace 'requirements', a work like Saiyuki can maintain its uniqueness and still be accessible to English readers.