Cathy Hirano (平野 キャシー, Hirano Kyashii) is a translator of Japanese fiction for young adults. She is the translator for the English editions of the Moribito novels, Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit and Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness. Hirano currently resides in Shikoku, Japan[1].
Originally born and raised in Canada, Hirano moved to Kyoto, Japan in 1978 as an English teacher. After graduating from the International Christian University of Cultural Anthropology in 1983, she became a freelance translator in 1987[2].
In 1997, Hirano's translation of The Friends by Kazumi Yumoto won the Batchelder Award for literature in translation and the Boston Globe-Horn Book award for fiction[1][3]. In 2009, Her translation of Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit was also awarded the Batchelder Award[2].
Translations[]
- Dragon Sword and Wind Child (Noriko Ogiwara) - Farrar, Straus and Giroux (first edition, 1988); Viz Media (second edition, 2007)
- The Fox's Egg (Ikuyo Isami) - Carolrhoda Books (1989)
- A Calf is Born (Kiyonori Kaizuki) - Orchard Books (first edition, 1990)
- The Friends (Kazumi Yumoto) - Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1996)
- The Spring Tone (Kazumi Yumoto) - Farrar, Straus and Giroux (1999)
- Mr. Beetle (Satoshi Toda) - Carolrhoda Books (2001)
- The Letters (Kazumi Yumoto) - Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2002)
- Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Nahoko Uehashi) - Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic, 2008)
- Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness (Nahoko Uehashi) - Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic, 2009)
- Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince (Noriko Ogiwara) - Viz Media (2011)
- The Bear and the Wildcat (Kazumi Yumoto, illustrated by Komako Sakai) - Gecko Press (2011)
External Links[]
- Cathy Hirano's blog
- Young Adult Fantasy in Translation - Interview with Cathy Hirano and Nahoko Uehashi by Misa Dikengil
- A Taste from the East comes to London with visiting Japanese author Kazumi Yumoto
- One Passage, Six Translations – Nahoko Uehashi (Five Translators and Cathy Hirano)
- Cambodia experience facilitated aid effort in the Tohoku region