Helen Craig McCullough (February 17, 1918 – April 6, 1998) was an American academic, translator and

Japanologist , sometimes known as 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 language, History of Japan, history, ...

. 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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

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 List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

. In 1950, she returned to Berkeley where she earned an MA and PhD. She married fellow Berkeley graduate student

William H. McCullough William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

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Career

McCullough was a scholar of

classical Japanese The , also called and sometimes simply called "Medieval Japanese", is the literary form of the Japanese language that was the standard until the early Shōwa period (1926–1989). It is based on Early Middle Japanese, the language as spoken d ...

poetry and prose. She was a lecturer at

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

, 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 medieval Japanese historical epic (see '' gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the ...

a Chronicle of Medieval Japan'' *''

Yoshitsune Yoshitsune may refer to: * Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159–1189) ** ''Gikeiki'', a Japanese chronicle, sometimes known in English by Helen Craig McCullough's translated title ''Yoshitsune'' ** ''Yoshitsune'' (TV series), a 2005 Japanese television ...

A 15th Century Japanese Chronicle'' *''

The Tale of the Heike is an 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). It has been translated into English at least five times. ...

'' *''

Kokin Wakashu The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted b ...

: 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 versi ...

: 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 ...

) *''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 Kaneie. Kaneie had become Regent in 986, holding the position unt ...

(966-1027 and His Times : a Study and Translation)'' * ; (2 vols.) -- the ''

Eiga Monogatari is a Japanese ''monogatari'' and epic account that relates events in the life of the imperial courtier Fujiwara no Michinaga. It is believed to have been written by a number of authors between 1028 and 1107 during the Heian era. It is notable for ...

Honors

Her honors included several visiting professorships and a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

from the Japanese government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mccullough, Helen Craig Japanese–English translators Scholars of Japanese literature 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