In Her Words: A New Translation of the Quran into Japanese (Interview)

Abstract

Kyoko Nishida, the Director of the Tokyo Camii Institute, an independent research institute on Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, and a professional translator, recently published a translation of the Quran in Japanese as the second Muslim woman to do so, with the help of Turkish, Syrian and Japanese Muslim scholars who live and work in Japan. Her new book Quran: Japanese Comprehension is published by Tokyo Camii Publishing, a branch of Camii Diyanet, an official Turkish religious institute situated in Tokyo. Fuga Kimura interviewed Nishida for IQAS, discussing motivations for new translations, the challenges involved and the differences among Quranic translations, as well as the rich history of Quran receptions in Japan. Nishida also spoke of her struggles to maintain intellectual independence as a professional translator working under a religious institution.