Yei Theodora Ozaki
1870–1932
Biography
Yei Theodora Ozaki (英子 セオドラ 尾崎) was a translator who brought Japanese short stories and fairy tales into English. She was born in London around 1870 to a Japanese father, a baron who was among the first Japanese men to study in Britain, and an English mother. After her parents separated she was brought up in London by her mother and her English grandparents, so English was the language of her childhood.
Her best-known work is her series of translations of Japanese fairy tales and folk stories, published in the early twentieth century. Her versions are free rather than literal, and critics have pointed out how far she reshaped the stories for English readers. Even so, her books were reprinted several times after her death in 1932, which suggests they stayed popular with English readers for a long time.
The site holds Japanese Fairy Tales, which shows how Japanese folk stories were presented to English-speaking readers in her day. It is a useful place to start for anyone who wants to compare her retellings with the stories as they are told in Japan.
This biography was written by a language model. The sources below are where to check it; treat details with care.
Books
Japanese Fairy Tales
by Yei Theodora Ozaki
Yei Theodora Ozaki's 1908 retellings of Japanese tales, including Momotaro the peach boy and the tongue-cut sparrow. Demons, foxes and kind old couples fill the stories. A classic introduction to the folklore of Japan.
Summary written by Claude Sonnet 5.5.