Richard Medhurst📚️🇯🇵
@richardmedh.bsky.social
Brit in Yokohama, translator at https://www.nippon.com/en/
Translator of The Essential Akutagawa (Sep 2025)
Interested in Japanese language, literature, and history.
Translator of The Essential Akutagawa (Sep 2025)
Interested in Japanese language, literature, and history.
Pinned
New Akutagawa collection coming in September. I was working on this for some time.
I wrote another in this series exploring kanji by different radicals.
www.nippon.com/en/japan-top...
www.nippon.com/en/japan-top...
Making a Splash: Kanji with the Water Radical (氵)
From ponds (池) to the sea (海), and swimming (泳) to crying (泣), many of Japan’s kanji are connected with water, and include the 氵radical, signifying water droplets.
www.nippon.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:52 AM
I wrote another in this series exploring kanji by different radicals.
www.nippon.com/en/japan-top...
www.nippon.com/en/japan-top...
TIL "cume" is a shortened form of "cumulative" and people are even using it in headlines.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’ Opens to $52M in China, Lifting Cume to $730M Worldwide
The movie is now the top-grossing international film ever at the North American box office, supplanting longtime record holder 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.'
www.hollywoodreporter.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:02 AM
TIL "cume" is a shortened form of "cumulative" and people are even using it in headlines.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
Very much enjoyed Fair by Jen Calleja. A good read on literary translation.
prototypepublishing.co.uk/product/fair/
prototypepublishing.co.uk/product/fair/
Fair: The Life-Art of Translation by Jen Calleja - Prototype
Fair: The Life-Art of Translation is a satirical, refreshing and brilliantly playful book about learning the art of translation, being a bookworker in the publishing industry, growing up, family, and ...
prototypepublishing.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Very much enjoyed Fair by Jen Calleja. A good read on literary translation.
prototypepublishing.co.uk/product/fair/
prototypepublishing.co.uk/product/fair/
Recently learning about kuku (times tables), where for example:
Sanpa nijūshi means 3x8=24
Inichi ga ichi means 1x1=1
Apparently these kinds of odd pronunciations make it easier to say and remember. Here's a list I found online.
The name kuku comes from 9x9.
www.iwakura.ed.jp/nihongo/sans...
Sanpa nijūshi means 3x8=24
Inichi ga ichi means 1x1=1
Apparently these kinds of odd pronunciations make it easier to say and remember. Here's a list I found online.
The name kuku comes from 9x9.
www.iwakura.ed.jp/nihongo/sans...
www.iwakura.ed.jp
November 13, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Recently learning about kuku (times tables), where for example:
Sanpa nijūshi means 3x8=24
Inichi ga ichi means 1x1=1
Apparently these kinds of odd pronunciations make it easier to say and remember. Here's a list I found online.
The name kuku comes from 9x9.
www.iwakura.ed.jp/nihongo/sans...
Sanpa nijūshi means 3x8=24
Inichi ga ichi means 1x1=1
Apparently these kinds of odd pronunciations make it easier to say and remember. Here's a list I found online.
The name kuku comes from 9x9.
www.iwakura.ed.jp/nihongo/sans...
Reposted by Richard Medhurst📚️🇯🇵
The Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture just awarded me the Lindsley and Masao Miyoshi Prize for my translation of The North Light by Hideo Yokoyama. Thrilled that this rich and beautiful novel may now get the attention it deserves. Looking for a US publisher to buy the North American rights.
November 12, 2025 at 11:42 AM
The Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture just awarded me the Lindsley and Masao Miyoshi Prize for my translation of The North Light by Hideo Yokoyama. Thrilled that this rich and beautiful novel may now get the attention it deserves. Looking for a US publisher to buy the North American rights.
Suica penguin is retiring! This article says no decision yet on a replacement, but I'm thinking, maybe Myaku-Myaku.
news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a9d...
news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a9d...
Suicaのペンギン「卒業」へ 四半世紀の活躍、後任キャラは未定（朝日新聞） - Yahoo!ニュース
JR東日本は11日、交通系ICカード「Suica（スイカ）」のマスコットキャラクターとして、四半世紀にわたって親しまれてきた「Suicaのペンギン」について、2026年度末に「卒業する」と発表した
news.yahoo.co.jp
November 11, 2025 at 6:26 AM
Suica penguin is retiring! This article says no decision yet on a replacement, but I'm thinking, maybe Myaku-Myaku.
news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a9d...
news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/a9d...
Reposted by Richard Medhurst📚️🇯🇵
R.I.P. Nakadai Tatsuya, one of the giant figures in history of Japanese cinema news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6558551
俳優・仲代達矢さん死去 92歳 - Yahoo!ニュース
映画「人間の条件」や黒沢明監督の「影武者」などに主演し、主宰する「無名塾」で後進を育てた俳優で文化勲章受章者の仲代達矢（なかだい・たつや、本名元久＝もとひさ）さんが死去したことが11日、分かった。9
news.yahoo.co.jp
November 11, 2025 at 2:42 AM
R.I.P. Nakadai Tatsuya, one of the giant figures in history of Japanese cinema news.yahoo.co.jp/pickup/6558551
This was an interesting article to translate. Next year the Fire Horse comes round again. (Spoiler: the author doesn't expect a similar phenomenon in 2026.)
www.nippon.com/en/japan-top...
www.nippon.com/en/japan-top...
The Year of the Fire Horse: Why Did Births Plummet in Japan in 1966?
The number of newborns in Japan showed a severe dip in 1966, which has been attributed to a superstition based on the 60-year zodiac cycle that suggested women born in that year would be hot-tempered ...
www.nippon.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:04 AM
This was an interesting article to translate. Next year the Fire Horse comes round again. (Spoiler: the author doesn't expect a similar phenomenon in 2026.)
www.nippon.com/en/japan-top...
www.nippon.com/en/japan-top...
Reposted by Richard Medhurst📚️🇯🇵
My latest piece for Tokyo Review:
Ten years ago, two municipalities in Tokyo wrote history by commencing Japan’s first so-called “partnership systems” to provide some level of recognition to LGBTQ+ couples’ relationships. In the years that followed, the policy has spread tremendously and paved the way for further change.
A decade of LGBT partnership systems in Japan
Ten years ago, two municipalities in Tokyo wrote history by commencing Japan’s first so-called “partnership systems” (パートナーシップ制度) to recognize LGBTQ+ couples’ relationships. In the years that followed...
www.tokyoreview.net
November 5, 2025 at 4:03 PM
My latest piece for Tokyo Review:
Was learning about this owl yesterday. 2021 photo became a 2025 internet meme in Japan. (Yes, I'm not online enough to have picked up on it earlier!)
petapixel.com/2021/10/25/p...
petapixel.com/2021/10/25/p...
Photographer Captures Baby Barn Owl Mid-Run
Dutch hobbyist photographer Hannie Heere captured an adorable photograph of a brave barn owl chick mid-run.
petapixel.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Was learning about this owl yesterday. 2021 photo became a 2025 internet meme in Japan. (Yes, I'm not online enough to have picked up on it earlier!)
petapixel.com/2021/10/25/p...
petapixel.com/2021/10/25/p...
Good to hear some positive political news out of the US.
November 5, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Good to hear some positive political news out of the US.
Next up to read. The Japanese book is Shiokara Pass by Miura Ayako.
November 4, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Next up to read. The Japanese book is Shiokara Pass by Miura Ayako.
Sure, "Don't automatically translate 「」 as quotation marks" is basic J-E translation stuff, but when it comes to actually writing in Japanese, I find those square brackets useful for emphasising important words.
October 31, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Sure, "Don't automatically translate 「」 as quotation marks" is basic J-E translation stuff, but when it comes to actually writing in Japanese, I find those square brackets useful for emphasising important words.
Reposted by Richard Medhurst📚️🇯🇵
Herodotus tells that King Croesus once tested all the oracles.
His messengers asked what the king would be doing In 100 days.
Only the Oracle at Delphi appeared to be correct: he was making tortoise soup.
worksofgenius.org/2025/10/28/t...
His messengers asked what the king would be doing In 100 days.
Only the Oracle at Delphi appeared to be correct: he was making tortoise soup.
worksofgenius.org/2025/10/28/t...
Tortoise Soup
I’m calling bullshit on this doomer nonsense filling every screen. Anyone who tells you that something is fixed and dilated, that a specific future is inevitable, that it was always going to end t…
worksofgenius.org
October 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Herodotus tells that King Croesus once tested all the oracles.
His messengers asked what the king would be doing In 100 days.
Only the Oracle at Delphi appeared to be correct: he was making tortoise soup.
worksofgenius.org/2025/10/28/t...
His messengers asked what the king would be doing In 100 days.
Only the Oracle at Delphi appeared to be correct: he was making tortoise soup.
worksofgenius.org/2025/10/28/t...
Some kind of ball game has stopped on the TV, causing discussion among my colleagues.
October 28, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Some kind of ball game has stopped on the TV, causing discussion among my colleagues.
Random word of the day:
狩猟（しゅりょう）= hunting
Posting in the hope that it will help me to memorise it. It's the kind of combination I find trickiest, as I try to recall if it's しゅりょう or じゅりょう or しゅうりょう or じゅうりょう or しゅりょ or じゅりょ or しゅうりょ or じゅうりょ or even しゅりゅう or しゅろう etc. etc.
狩猟（しゅりょう）= hunting
Posting in the hope that it will help me to memorise it. It's the kind of combination I find trickiest, as I try to recall if it's しゅりょう or じゅりょう or しゅうりょう or じゅうりょう or しゅりょ or じゅりょ or しゅうりょ or じゅうりょ or even しゅりゅう or しゅろう etc. etc.
October 28, 2025 at 12:44 AM
Random word of the day:
狩猟（しゅりょう）= hunting
Posting in the hope that it will help me to memorise it. It's the kind of combination I find trickiest, as I try to recall if it's しゅりょう or じゅりょう or しゅうりょう or じゅうりょう or しゅりょ or じゅりょ or しゅうりょ or じゅうりょ or even しゅりゅう or しゅろう etc. etc.
狩猟（しゅりょう）= hunting
Posting in the hope that it will help me to memorise it. It's the kind of combination I find trickiest, as I try to recall if it's しゅりょう or じゅりょう or しゅうりょう or じゅうりょう or しゅりょ or じゅりょ or しゅうりょ or じゅうりょ or even しゅりゅう or しゅろう etc. etc.
Reposted by Richard Medhurst📚️🇯🇵
How am I only just finding out that these are a thing?!
New Mr Poirot and Little Miss Marple books to be published
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
New Mr Poirot and Little Miss Marple books to be published
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
New Mr Poirot and Little Miss Marple books to be published
Agatha Christie’s popular detectives feature in new Mr Men and Little Miss stories – Mischief on the Nile and Muddle at the Vicarage
www.theguardian.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:16 AM
How am I only just finding out that these are a thing?!
New Mr Poirot and Little Miss Marple books to be published
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
New Mr Poirot and Little Miss Marple books to be published
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...
Should reading be my only hobby? A thought living in my head at the moment.
Not exactly surprised by Merve Emre's response to the question: "Where and When Do You Read ?" but: respect/admiration/envy. An ideal I only sometimes manage to approach. (Via @sansip.bsky.social ) linkst.thecut.com/view/6356a9c...
October 22, 2025 at 6:42 AM
Should reading be my only hobby? A thought living in my head at the moment.
Novelty wearing off?
October 20, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Novelty wearing off?
Just correcting "friend chicken" to "fried chicken."
October 16, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Just correcting "friend chicken" to "fried chicken."
離脱 is giving me flashbacks to Brexit.
October 10, 2025 at 7:18 AM
離脱 is giving me flashbacks to Brexit.
One fun kanji fact I like is that the 午 in 午前 (morning) and 午後 (afternoon) means "horse," as the old hour of the horse was around noon.
www.nippon.com/en/japan-dat...
www.nippon.com/en/japan-dat...
The Year of the Horse: Galloping into 2026
As 2026 is the Year of the Horse, we introduce the connections these animals have with Japan’s shrines, as well as various sayings associated with them.
www.nippon.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:43 AM
One fun kanji fact I like is that the 午 in 午前 (morning) and 午後 (afternoon) means "horse," as the old hour of the horse was around noon.
www.nippon.com/en/japan-dat...
www.nippon.com/en/japan-dat...
I just had to track it down. The Essential Akutagawa on sale in Maruzen, Tokyo. On sale in other places too.
October 7, 2025 at 4:18 AM
I just had to track it down. The Essential Akutagawa on sale in Maruzen, Tokyo. On sale in other places too.
I think it would be more polite if we changed YOLO to YOLOshiku onegaishimasu.
October 6, 2025 at 6:06 AM
I think it would be more polite if we changed YOLO to YOLOshiku onegaishimasu.
Beer wars heating up.
October 5, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Beer wars heating up.