HERE & THERE – 2003 Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for Translation of Japanese Literature

February 1, 2003
past event image

The Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture at Columbia University annually awards $5,000 in Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prizes for the Translation of Japanese Literature.  A prize is given for the best translation of a modern work of literature or for the best classical literary translation, or the prize is divided between a classical and a modern work.


Conditions for Eligibility



  • The Prize is intended for translators who are not widely recognized for their translations, though they may have published. Those who have previously received the Prize are ineligible.

  • Translations must be book-length works of Japanese literature: novels, collections of short stories, literary essays, memoirs, drama or poetry.

  • Translated works submitted for consideration may include: unpublished manuscripts; works in press; or translations published after January 1, 2000.


  • Applications are accepted from individual translators and from publishers on behalf of eligible translators.

Submissions will be judged on the literary merits of the translation and its faithfulness to the spirit of the Japanese original. Winners will be selected by a panel of distinguished writers, editors, translators and scholars.


For an application, please call (212) 854-5036.

Please send seven copies of each translation (published or in manuscript form), together with the application form, by February 1, 2003, to
Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture
507 Kent Hall, MC3920
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027

  • February 1, 2003 – February 1, 2003