Attendance at Nao-Cola Yamazaki Talk
2026/8/21
On Friday 21st August, Cultural Consul Masataka Abe attended “Writing the Interior”, a talk at the Edinburgh International Book Festival which featured author Nao-Cola Yamazaki, and translators Polly Barton, and Charlotte Goff who worked on the English translation of her books. This event was made possible with the support of The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
On the day, Nao-Cola Yamazaki discussed her work, with Sash de Buyl moderating the event. Discussions were held on the importance of collaboration between author and translator, and the challenge of translating into English while using the narrative style of “The Tale of Genji” and the frequent omission of names and subjects in the original Japanese was addressed. The venue was packed with audience members, and the subsequent book signing session drew a long line of fans, a sight which confirmed the popularity of the book in the UK.
After the event the panellists had a lively discussion with Paul Madden, former British Ambassador to Japan and Chairman of the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
On the day, Nao-Cola Yamazaki discussed her work, with Sash de Buyl moderating the event. Discussions were held on the importance of collaboration between author and translator, and the challenge of translating into English while using the narrative style of “The Tale of Genji” and the frequent omission of names and subjects in the original Japanese was addressed. The venue was packed with audience members, and the subsequent book signing session drew a long line of fans, a sight which confirmed the popularity of the book in the UK.
After the event the panellists had a lively discussion with Paul Madden, former British Ambassador to Japan and Chairman of the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.