New Books Network Ted Goossen on translating Hiromi Kawakami’s “Third Love”
Apr 10, 2026
Ted Goossen, a veteran translator of Japanese literature, reflects on arriving in Japan in 1968 and his long career translating Kawakami and Murakami. He discusses translating Hiromi Kawakami’s The Third Love, choices about Japanese love terms, linking Edo and Heian worlds to modern women, and shifting themes as women writers gain prominence in contemporary Japanese fiction.
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Learning Japanese By Full Immersion
- Ted Goossen learned Japanese by immersive homestays and village life during a 1968 Oberlin exchange year.
- He lived with non-English-speaking families, played on a Waseda basketball team, and learned organically like a child through daily interactions.
Past Eras Reframe Modern Marriage
- Hiromi Kawakami's The Third Love links modern married women's struggles to Edo and Heian female lives to show alternate models of agency and love.
- Kawakami dramatizes how historical arrangements eased the weight of modern monogamous infidelity and restored female resilience.
How Japanese 'Love' Was Invented
- The Japanese concept of love evolved late; translators had to create new terms in the 1880s because earlier Japanese lacked a Western-style 'I love you'.
- Goossen notes the adoption of a Buddhist-derived character (ai) to express compassion-turned-romantic love.
