William Scott Wilson (born 1944,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

) is known for translating several works of

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...

, mostly those relating to the martial tradition of that country. Wilson has brought historical Chinese and Japanese thought, philosophy, and tactics to the West in his translations of famous

East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...

literature.

Awards

On November 3, 2015, Wilson was inducted into the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

, Gold Rays with Rosette, for "promoting understanding of Japan through the introduction of Japanese Literature in the United States." Wilson received Japan's Foreign Minister's Commendation from the Consulate General of Japan in Miami, Masakazu Toshikage on November 15, 2005. According to the Consulate Press release: The award is "conferred upon individuals or groups that have rendered especially distinguished service in strengthening the relationship between Japan and other countries. Through his literary works and translations, Mr. Wilson has contributed greatly to increased cultural understanding and friendship between the US and Japan." His first original work, The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi, was published in 2004. He has done extensive research on Japanese philosophy and

Bushido is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...

, the way of the samurai."

Timeline

* Bachelor of Arts in Political Science,

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

* Bachelor of Arts, Japanese Language and Literature, Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies, Monterey, California, USA (Now Monterey Institute of International Studies, a graduate school of Middlebury College) * Aichi Prefectural University, Nagoya, Japan (1975–1977) extensive Study of

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

(1603–1868) * Master's Degree in Japanese Language and Literature, University of Washington at Seattle. (1979)

Books

*'' The Lone Samurai: The Life of Miyamoto Musashi'',

Kodansha International is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

(October, 2004) * ‘’ Walking the Kiso Road’’ Shambhala Publications, 2015 * ‘’ The Life and Zen Haiku Poetry of Santoka Taneda Tuttle Publishing, 2021

Translations

* ‘’Afoot in Japan’’ by Yasumi Roan. 2015 * ''Tao Te Ching: A New Translation'' by Lao Tzu, Shambhala Publications, 2012 * The Unencumbered Spirit: Reflections of a Chinese Sage. Kodansha International * ''Yojokun: Life Lessons from a Samurai'' (The Way of the Warrior Series) by Kaibara Ekiken (January 1, 2009) Kodansha International 224 pages * ''The 36 Secret Strategies of the Martial Arts'' by Hiroshi Moriya (March, 2008) * ''The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts'' by Issai Chozanshi. Kodansha International (release date: November, 2006) * ''The Flowering Spirit: Classic Teachings on the Art of No'' by Zeami. Kodansha (release date: May 19, 2006) * '' The Life-Giving Sword: Secret Teachings from the House of the Shogun'' (The Living Sword) by Yagyu Munenori (February, 2004) * ''

Go Rin no Sho is a text on ''kenjutsu'' and the martial arts in general, written by the Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi around 1645. Many translations have been made, and it enjoys an audience considerably broader than other martial artists and people ac ...

'' (''The Book of Five Rings'') by

Miyamoto Musashi , also known as Shinmen Takezō, Miyamoto Bennosuke or, by his Buddhist name, Niten Dōraku, was a Japanese swordsman, philosopher, strategist, writer and rōnin, who became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship a ...

(01/18/2002) * ''Taiko: An Epic Novel of War and Glory in Feudal Japan'' by

Eiji Yoshikawa was a Japanese historical novelist. Among his best-known novels are revisions of older classics. He was mainly influenced by classics such as ''The Tale of the Heike'', ''Tale of Genji'', ''Water Margin'' and ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', m ...

(10/27/2000) * ''

The Unfettered Mind is a three-part treatise on Buddhist philosophy and martial arts written in the 17th century by Takuan Sōhō, a Japanese monk of the Rinzai sect. The title translates roughly to "The Mysterious Records of Immovable Wisdom". The book is a series ...

'' by

Takuan Sōhō was a Japanese Buddhist prelate during the Sengoku and early Edo Periods of Japanese history. He was a major figure in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. Noted for his calligraphy, poetry, tea ceremony, he is also popularly credited with the ...

(12/01/1987) * ''Budoshinshu: The Warrior's Primer'' by Daidōji Yuzan (04/01/1984) * ''

Hagakure ''Hagakure'' (Kyūjitai: ; Shinjitai: ; meaning ''Hidden by the Leaves'' or ''Hidden Leaves''), or , is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, drawn from a collection of commentaries by the clerk Yamamoto Tsunetomo, former retainer to Nab ...

'' (''Hidden by Leaves'') by

Yamamoto Tsunetomo , Buddhist monastic name Yamamoto Jōchō (June 11, 1659 – November 30, 1719), was a samurai of the Saga Domain in Hizen Province under his lord Nabeshima Mitsushige. He became a Zen Buddhist priest and relayed his experiences, memories, ...

(03/01/1983) * ''Ideals of the Samurai: Writings of Japanese Warriors'' (October, 1982) * ''Roots of Wisdom (Saikontan)'' (1984)

Notes

External links

Honored by the Consulate General of Japan, November, 2005

* ttp://www.publishersweekly.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleID=CA425702 Publishers Weekly Interview Revisits an Ancient Culture (6/12/2004) *

Sean Michael Wilson Sean Michael Wilson is a comic book writer from Edinburgh, Scotland. He has written more than 30 books with a variety of US, UK and Japanese publishers and has been nominated for both the Eisner and Harvey book awards, and won a medal in the Jap ...

's homepage - includes manga/graphic novel versions of William Scott Wilson's books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, William Scott Japanese–English translators 1944 births Living people