Helen Craig McCullough (February 17, 1918 – April 6, 1998) was an American academic, translator and
Japanologist
Japanese studies (Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese ...
.
She is best known for her 1988 translation of ''The Tale of the Heike''.
Early life
McCullough was born in California. She graduated from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 1939 with a degree in political science.
Early in World War II, she studied Japanese at the U.S. Navy’s Language School in
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...
.
In 1950, she returned to Berkeley where she earned an MA and PhD.
She married fellow Berkeley graduate student
William H. McCullough.
[; (full view]
Calisphere site
/ref>
Career
McCullough was a scholar of classical Japanese
The classical Japanese language ( ''bungo'', "literary language"), also called "old writing" ( ''kobun''), sometimes simply called "Medieval Japanese" is the literary form of the Japanese language that was the standard until the early Shōwa pe ...
poetry and prose. She was a lecturer at Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
, where her husband William was on the faculty (1964-1969). In 1969, she and William both joined the Department of Oriental Languages at Berkeley, her alma mater, where she began as lecturer and later received tenure as Professor of Oriental Languages in 1975.[
]
Selected works
McCullough’s scholarly publications included 11 volumes of studies and translations. Her publications included the study ''Brocade by Night: 'Kokin Wakashu' and the Court Style in Japanese Classical Poetry'' and translations of major works of Japanese literature:
*''Taiheiki
The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a Japanese historical epic (see ''gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Taiheiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', pp. 923 ...
a Chronicle of Medieval Japan''
*'' Yoshitsune A 15th Century Japanese Chronicle''
*''The Tale of the Heike
is an epic poetry, epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike () refers to the Taira (), ''hei'' being ...
''
*'' Kokin Wakashu: The First Imperial Anthology of Japanese Poetry''
*''Tales of Ise
is a Japanese '' uta monogatari'', or collection of ''waka'' poems and associated narratives, dating from the Heian period. The current version collects 125 sections, with each combining poems and prose, giving a total of 209 poems in most version ...
: Lyrical Episodes from 10th Century Japan'' (Ariwara no Narihira
was a Japanese courtier and ''waka'' poet of the early Heian period. He was named one of both the Six Poetic Geniuses and the Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses, and one of his poems was included in the ''Ogura Hyakunin Isshu'' collection. He is a ...
)
*''Okagami, the Great Mirror: Fujiwara Michinaga
was a Japanese statesman. The Fujiwara clan's control over Japan and its politics reached its zenith under his leadership.
Early life
Michinaga was born in Kyōto, the son of Kaneiye. Kaneiye had become Regent in 986, holding the position unti ...
(966-1027 and His Times : a Study and Translation)''
* ; (2 vols.) -- the ''Eiga Monogatari
is a Japanese ''monogatari'' which relates events in the life of courtier Fujiwara no Michinaga. It is believed to have been written by a number of authors, over the course of roughly a century, from 1028 to 1107.
It is notable for giving high c ...
''
Honors
Her honors included several visiting professorships and a Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
from the Japanese government.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccullough, Helen Craig
Japanese–English translators
Japanese literature academics
University of California, Berkeley alumni
Stanford University faculty
University of California, Berkeley faculty
1918 births
1998 deaths
20th-century American translators
Ise Monogatari
20th-century American women writers