Additions to Aesop: A Latin American connection in 17th century Japan? Event as iCalendar
(School of Cultures, Languages and Linguistics, History)
10 April 2019
12 - 1pm
Venue: Pat Hanan Room, Te Puna Reo / Cultures, Languages and Linguistics Building (207-501)
Host: Professor Mark Mullins
Dr Lawrence Marceau | University of Auckland
Ever since their publication in the early 17th century, the Life of Aesop and over 60 fables have attracted great interest among readers and scholars alike. One of the great mysteries of this collection is the inclusion of a few stories that do not appear in standard European editions of the time. Where did the Portuguese Jesuits and their Japanese disciples find them?
One surprising source seems to have appeared in the Americas, with versions found set in Mexico (Nueva España) and in Peru. This seminar examines this story together with some other anomalies found in the Japanese Aesop's Fables, suggesting that the translators selected material from a variety of contemporary sources at their disposal.
