Analysis of the nationality of Chinese based on the Ruby and Annotation of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio translated by Shibata Temma

In the early 20th century, Shibata Temma arrived in Manchuria, China from Japan. From theyear 1927 onward, Shibata began publishing translated series in a Japanese magazine called Manchu and Mongolia. His translation of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio played a crucial cultural role, and the series continued until the magazine ceased publication in 1942. Although the magazine featured many other Chinese literary works which were translated into Japanese, none of them had the longevity of Shibata’s translation of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. It is clear that the collection was extremely well received. The series’ popularity raises two questions：(1) Which aspects of the translated work appealed to readers, and (2) What techniques did Shibata employ to cater to the magazine’s editorial principle of cultural development through translated works? These questions form the basis of the present study. Specifically, I explore the themes of ruby characters and annotation in Shibata’s translation Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, with a particular focus on Shibata’s attention to Chinese nationality through an interplay between ruby characters and annotations.