News
2025.01.29
On Saturday, December 21, 2024, the Research Center for Textual Scholarship held a symposium titled “Editing and Translating Friedrich H?lderlin’s Late Portry: Towords Third-Generation Editing” in Room 322 of Building 3 at Seijo University. Organized as a continuation of the previous year’s symposium, “Friedrich H?lderlin, the History of Scholarly Editing of His Works: Considering How to Edit a Translatable Text” (held on July 15, 2023), this event fostered lively and productive exchanges between speakers and participants on a range of issues surrounding the new editing of H?lderlin’s poetry, and concluded with great success.
In the opening session, Professor Takashi Yahaba (Dokkyo University; Special Visiting Researcher of the Center) provided an introduction outlining the background and necessity of a new edition and translation project. He also presented an overview of the Italian bilingual edition edited by Luigi Reitani, which serves as one of the key reference points for the current project.
Following this, Yu Tomizuka (Doctoral Candidate, Seijo University; Research Assistant at the Center) discussed the editorial significance and limitations of Reitani’s bilingual edition, offering insights for future editing approaches. His report focused on the arrangement of poems and the construction of the text.
Professor Yahaba then returned to the podium to present on the possibilities of developing a new editorial policy that, while taking Reitani’s approach into account, does not necessarily follow it in full. Using H?lderlin’s poem “Andenken” as an example, he demonstrated how such a re-editing might be realized.
The second part of the symposium featured interim reports on the actual practice of new editing and translation. Associate Professor Toshiro Eki (Kumamoto University) began by examining the various drafts of “Der Einzige”, tracing their interrelations and editorial history. He proposed an editorial approach that presents “Der Einzige” as a unified project by highlighting the processual development among its drafts.
Next, Associate Professor Hideya Hayashi (Kansai University) discussed two poems beginning respectively with “Wie wenn der Landmann ...” and “Wie wenn am Feiertage ...”. He explored the interpretive potential that emerges from presenting and editing these two poems in parallel, while addressing issues related to the reproduction of blanks and marginalia found in the manuscripts.
Professor Koji Ota (Sophia University) then presented on the editing and interpretation of “Mnemosyne”, focusing on questions concerning stanza structure and title attribution. He also discussed divergences in the research tradition regarding rhythm and interpretation within the poem and showed how the new edition positions itself in response to these debates.
Finally, Associate Professor Kenichi Onodera (Daito Bunka University) addressed the poem “Germanien”, noting that it has traditionally been edited as a conflation of multiple drafts. He proposed a new editorial direction based on a single manuscript version, offering a fresh textual presentation distinct from previous editions.
In the third part, Professor Kiyoko Myojo (Seijo University; Director of the Research Center for Textual Scholarship) and Harumi Hirano (Doctoral Candidate, The University of Tokyo) joined via Zoom for a discussion with the panelists and audience. The discussion engaged with fundamental questions at the core of the project: What can, or should, a new edition and translation convey about H?lderlin? Which texts should be selected, and in what sequence? These and related issues concerning editorial principles were debated with enthusiasm and depth.
Between the second and third sessions, participants enjoyed a coffee break that provided a welcome opportunity for informal conversation and exchange.
The Research Center for Textual Scholarship will continue to host regular events related to editorial and textual studies. Announcements will be posted on our university website. We warmly invite all those interested to join us at future events.
