Rampo Edogawa's Poe translation published as book

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　平成25・2013年1月28日　読売新聞社

 

Rampo Edogawa's Poe translation published as book

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Rampo Edogawa's Poe translation published as book

 

The Yomiuri Shimbun

 

A Japanese translation of the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Masque of the Red Death" by mystery novelist Rampo Edogawa has been published as a book for the first time as a limited-edition collector's item.

 

The book resurrects the Japanese and U.S. mystery greats for the first time in about 60 years. It was published last year by Rampousha Co., a one-man operation established by Hidetaka Fukae.

 

Fukae, a former editor of Shinchosha Publishing Co., launched the company to protect the culture of collectible books.

 

The translation by Edogawa (1894-1965), who took his name from the author, was first carried in the mystery-detective magazine "Hoseki" (Jewels) in 1949.

 

Fukae chose "The Masque of the Red Death" as the first book to be published by the company, which specializes in limited-edition works, from among various Edogawa-related texts that were buried in history.

 

The high-quality book features a leather spine and comes encased in a box. It is priced at 10,000 yen, with a limited print run of 350 copies.

 

"The Masque of the Red Death" takes place in a country overrun by a deadly plague. It was translated into a style that gives the scenes a fantastic, illusory quality, while keeping Poe's original style intact.

 

Edogawa researcher Shosaku Naka praised the translation, saying, "You can really feel the pure pleasure of Edogawa penning a work he had adored since his youth in his own words."

 

The 30th volume of "Sekai Taishu Bungaku Zenshu," a collection of world literature published by Kaizosha in 1929, includes 15 of Poe's works previously believed to have been translated by Edogawa.

 

However, the writer revealed in his autobiography that these were not his translations, making "The Masque of the Red Death" the only work of Poe's known to have been translated by Edogawa.

 

"I wanted to leave the work by Rampo, a great writer, in the form of a fine book," Fukae said.

 

Copies of the book, which also contains texts by Edogawa on Poe, can be purchased directly from Rampousha's website: http://www.rampousha.co.jp/.

 

(Jan. 28, 2013)