was a Japanese novelist and translator. She is best known for translating ''

Anne of Green Gables ''Anne of Green Gables'' is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery (published as L. M. Montgomery). Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century. Set in the late 19th century, t ...

'' by

L.M. Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with '' Anne of Green Gables''. She ...

into Japanese.

Early life and education

Muraoka was born on June 21, 1893, in Kofu,

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the no ...

. Her birth name was . Her parents were Methodists, and she was raised a devout Christian. She studied at the Tokyo Eiwa Jogakuin and began writing children's stories when she was encouraged by translator

Hiroko Katayama Katayama Hiroko (片山広子 born 10 February 1878 in Tokyo, died 19 March 1957) was a Japanese poet and translator. She did many translations of Irish writers under the pseudonym Matsumura Mineko. Her husband was a noted bureaucrat. She reportedl ...

. She graduated from school in 1913.

Career

After graduation, Muraoka returned to Yamanashi and taught at a branch of the Tokyo Eiwa Jogakuin there. In 1917 she published her first book, . She married Keizo Muraoka in 1919. They had a son in 1920. In 1926, after Keizo's printing company went bankrupt after the

1923 Great Kanto Earthquake Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

, they restarted the company in their home. Soon after that, their son died, leaving Muraoka depressed. Katayama encouraged her to translate

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, ...

'', and this helped her resume her normal routine. In 1932, Muraoka started a radio show in which she would read the news to children. The show became very popular, and children all over Japan called her . The show ended in the early 1940s as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began. Muraoka did not want to read news that referred to

Canadians Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

as the enemy because many of her friends were Canadian. In 1939 Muraoka was given a copy of ''Anne of Green Gables'' by her friend Loretta Leonard Shaw, a Canadian missionary. Muraoka translated it during the war, bringing the draft with her during air raids. The book was published in 1952 and became a bestseller. It was even added to the Japanese school curriculum in the 1970s. Some translators later criticized Muraoka's translation because she had omitted some parts. Muraoka planned her first trip to

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

in 1968. She was never able to visit before she died of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

on October 25, 1968. A television drama about Muraoka's life, ''

Hanako to Anne is a Japanese television drama series, the 90th Asadora series broadcast on NHK. It debuted on March 31, 2014, and is broadcast Monday through Saturday mornings, with a scheduled to end of September 27, 2014. It is based on the novel ''An no Yurik ...

'', was broadcast on the NHK in 2014. It was based on her biography , which was written by her granddaughter, Eri Muraoka.

Selected bibliography

Translations

* Mark Twain's ''The Prince and the Pauper'' (1927) * Eleanor H. Porter's ''

Pollyanna ''Pollyanna'' is a 1913 novel by American author Eleanor H. Porter, considered a classic of children's literature. The book's success led to Porter's soon writing a sequel, ''Pollyanna Grows Up'' (1915). Eleven more ''Pollyanna'' sequels, know ...

'' (1930) *

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

's '' Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1948) *

Emma Orczy Baroness Emma Orczy (full name: Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci) (; 23 September 1865 – 12 November 1947), usually known as Baroness Orczy (the name under which she was published) or to her family and friends as Em ...

's '' The Scarlet Pimpernel'' (1950) *

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's '' The Happy Prince'' (1951) *

Jean Webster Jean Webster was the pen name of Alice Jane Chandler Webster (July 24, 1876 – June 11, 1916), an American author whose books include '' Daddy-Long-Legs'' and '' Dear Enemy''. Her best-known books feature lively and likeable young female prota ...

's '' Daddy-Long-Legs'' (1951) * L.M. Montgomery's ''Anne of Green Gables'' (1952) (sequels published from 1954–1959) * Marie Louise de la Ramée's ''

A Dog of Flanders ''A Dog of Flanders'' is an 1872 novel by English author Marie Louise de la Ramée published with her pseudonym "Ouida". It is about a Flemish boy named Nello and his dog, Patrasche, and is set in Antwerp. In Japan, Korea, Russia, Ukraine and ...

'' (1952) *

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1952) * Frances Hodgson Burnett's '' A Little Princess'' (1954) * Frances Hodgson Burnett's ''The'' ''Secret Garden'' (1955) *

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...

's ''

The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby ''The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby'' is a children's novel by Charles Kingsley. Written in 1862–63 as a serial for ''Macmillan's Magazine'', it was first published in its entirety in 1863. It was written as part satire in ...

'' (1956) *

Gene Stratton-Porter Gene Stratton-Porter (August 17, 1863 – December 6, 1924), born Geneva Grace Stratton, was an American author, nature photographer, and naturalist from Wabash County, Indiana. In 1917 Stratton-Porter urged legislative support for the conservati ...

's ''

Freckles Freckles are clusters of concentrated melaninized cells which are most easily visible on people with a fair complexion. Freckles do not have an increased number of the melanin-producing cells, or melanocytes, but instead have melanocytes that ...

'' (1957) * Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's '' The Yearling'' (1958) * Mark Twain's ''

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United St ...

'' (1959) * L.M. Montgomery's '' Jane of Lantern Hill'' (1960) * L.M. Montgomery's '' Emily's Quest'' (1969)

Early life and education

Career

Selected bibliography

Translations

References

Further reading