３１日１２時５２分、以下の最終稿をTORｎのTehanu氏宛てに送信しました。１８名の方が連名を申し出てくださいました。ありがとうございました。最終稿についてのご説明は、今しばらくお待ちください。

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Dear Tehanu,

We read your article titled “Japanese Translations Improving? Now in Greece….” in the news section on 12/28. We would like to point out a number of inaccuracies in the report made by Luinneion. The controversy on the Japanese subtitles has gone on since March 2002, and unfortunately is far from having reached any satisfactory condition. To us, fans of LotR, this continues to be a struggle against the Japanese distributor, and it is therefore important that the facts are presented correctly.

To begin with, there are serious mistakes in the translation that Luinnenion made from the official announcement of Nippon Herald Films Inc. We must assume that Luinnenion’s knowledge of the Japanese language is not advanced enough to understand and evaluate the announcement properly. For instance, he/she translated the name of the Japanese studio co-distributing LotR as “Matsutake Inc.” Actually the Kanji characters of this studio are pronounced as “Shochiku”. This may appear to be only a minor error, but it shows that Luinneion has only a limited knowledge of the Japanese market. after all, Shochiku is one of the largest and most widely known Japanese studios.

Luinneion cited the following passage from the Nippon Herald Announcement: “With regard to who will do the work on the subtitles, we would like to give an abbreviated version of the information announced on the official Lord of the Rings site in September, 2002.”

This passage does not exist in the 12/25 announcement. The original Japanese reads as follows: “Regarding the information as to whom the subtitling would be entrusted and who would be asked to consult on it was already made public in the announcement we made on the (Japanese) official LotR website in September, and therefore we will not repeat it here.” The announcement then went on to explain the process in more detail of how the subtitles would be handled. It is therefore the opposite of an abbreviation, it was actually a detailed follow-up.

In fact, the previous announcement that this is referring to, was not in September but in June 2002. In June 2002, Nippon Herald felt compelled to reply to the fans who protested against the FotR subtitles in numerous petitions and on the Internet. Whether Nippon Herald referred to the wrong date by mistake or intentionally, we do not know. Anyhow, in June Nippon Herald announced their plans for the future subtitle making as follows:

A)　　　　Ms. Natsuko Toda who was responsible for the FotR subtitles would remain as the subtitler for the future installments.
B)　　　　Ms. Akiko Tanaka (highly acknowledged co-translator of the original books) and Hyoronsha (publisher of the books) would be invited to consult on the subtitling process.
C)　　　　No admission of the mistakes committed, no apology; they merely added that the subtitles for FotR video/DVD would be fixed, reasoning the number-of-letters-restriction to be much relaxed in these media in comparison to the theater release. To be fair, the video/DVD subtitles were somewhat improved, still quite a number of serious errors remained.
The 12/25 announcement then explains in detail that the original English script of the TTT international trailer was first handed to Tanaka for the preliminary translation, then passed on to Toda to be refurbished as subtitles, and lastly returned to Tanaka and Hyoronsha for the final check. As for the TTT theatrical release, the division of labour for producing the subtitles is explained as follows: preliminary translation by Hyoronsha; Tanaka to check the preliminary translation; Toda to create the subtitles based on the preliminary translation; Tanaka and Hyoronsha to check the subtitles; Toda, consulting with Tanaka and others, to finalize the subtitle transcript by making necessary adjustments. It furthermore explained that a similar process was adopted for the dubbed version, only there it was Mr. Katsushige Hirata, who would be the main script maker, and who would be consulted by Tanaka and Hyoronsha.
The interesting thing about all this is, that while the dubbed version turns out to be quite excellent, the subtitled version continues to be a problem. Either Tanaka is not much involved in the subtitling process to begin with, or her input is being ignored. We cannot believe that Tanaka, given her intimate knowledge of the books, would consent to such misrepresentations of the story in the subtitled version. Rather, we believe that this entire consultation process is just a big smoke screen, but in substance nothing is changing. It seems, that as long as Toda remains the main subtitler, there is nothing for the Japanese fans to rejoice about.

Just two of the many examples of the damage Toda continues to do to the film, even involving this supposedly great consultation process, can be studied in the TTT trailer:

* Sam’s original line: “It's the ring. It has taken hold of him,” took on a new twist and became: “Wonder if it’s the ring?”
* Sam and Frodo’s dialogue: “We’re lost. I don’t think Gandalf meant for us to come this way.” “ He didn’t mean for a lot of things to happen Sam”, lost its gravity and was toned down to: “Wonder if this is the way Gandalf meant?” (Note that "We're lost" is eliminated) “One unexpected thing after the other.”

We are not alone in being quite alarmed about this state of affairs. What the 12/25 announcement really meant to the LotR fans was, that substantial improvement could not be expected. The Japanese fans reacted at once, and a flood of protests was deluged on the BBS of the official Japanese LotR website. So what happened after that protest? Nippon Herald shut the BBS down! They attribute this decision to a system failure, yet we do not believe this to be the complete story. Currently, it is not possible to post new messages on the BBS though the past messages can be viewed.

We intend to inform PJ as soon as possible that the situation on the Japanese subtitles has not substantially improved. PJ’s comments: “We've got someone else to do the Japanese translations this time around.” (TVNZ interview at TTT Paris Premier) seems to suggest that “changing of the translator” isn’t merely PJ’s private intention but a joint intention of the team who has endeavored with him to bring the film trilogy about.

At this moment we have no way of knowing how the issue of Japanese LotR subtitles have been communicated between PJ and all the parties involved. But if PJ is still of the understanding that the matter is resolved, he will surely be disappointed. In the 12/25 announcement, Nippon Herald flatly states that PJ’s above comments were to them a total surprise, and declares that the credits for the TTT subtitles as a part of the "Staff & Cast" credits will be as follows: “Subtitles by Natsuko Toda, in collaboration with Akiko Tanaka and Hyoronsha.” If we are to take this seriously, Toda is still to remain in the same position as the subtitler for TTT, which is in straight contradiction of PJ’s statement.

It is therefore important to us Japanese fans, that the whole issue is not presented on the Internet as “resolved”. The contrary is true, and we need to continue to keep up the pressure.

Sincerely yours,
Evenstar 　　　　(tomoko_ked@hotmail.com)
以下、連名者のハンドルネームとメールアドレス
PS:
By the way, Toda has already been quite a controversial subtitler in Japan, even before the current protests over LotR subtitles. Just because she is probably the best known subtitler, does not mean that she is also “THE best movie translator in Japan” (quoted from Shiots). In Japan, quite frequently, the “old-habits-die-hard” of the Japanese business practice does not allow younger and more competent translators who would actually be entitled to be “in the same league with her” to compete freely, because this would endanger the oligopoly of the subtitling market by a small cluster of older and supposedly more experienced translators. For the record, let me here pick up some of Toda’s past classic misdeeds:
--- in "AMADEUS"
[English] death mass (First I must get the death mass, and then I ... I must achieve his death.)
[Subtitle] death mask (First I must get the death mask, and then I ... I must achieve his death.)
[Comment] How is it possible to get a DEATH MASK before someone's dead?

--- in "APOCALYPSE NOW"
[English] fifty-caliber machine guns
[Subtitle] 50mm machine guns
[Comment] "Fifty-caliber" is actually about 12.7mm. Imagine a gun with a diameter of 50mm!

--- in "Gladiator"
[English] ...a man who believed in the Republic
[Subtitle] ...a man who believed in the Federation
[Comment] Is my historical knowledge wrong? I know there WAS the Roman Republic, there WAS the Roman Empire...but not the Roman Federation.

--- in "GOSFORD PARK"
[English] Welsh Rarebit
[Subtitle] rabbit
[Comment] Does a vegetarian eat rabbit instead of cheese?

▼関連発言
│
└◆1185:なんですか？これは [ゆっこ] 12/29 15:32
　├◆1188:Japanese Translations Improving? .. [大ガラス] 12/29 16:26
　│├◆1189:これが恐れていたことです [ハーブ] 12/29 16:41
　││└◆1190:よろしくお願いします [ゆっこ] 12/29 17:08
　││　└◆1191:Re:よろしくお願いします [ゆっこ] 12/29 17:13
　│└◆1202:速報−TORN記事要旨（戸田擁護論... [白い都] 12/29 20:46
　├◆1192:日本人じゃないでしょう。 [baldhatter] 12/29 18:12
　│├◆1193:Re:日本人じゃないでしょう。 [あ、クマ犬] 12/29 19:18
　││└◆1196:機械でもない [baldhatter] 12/29 19:55
　│└◆1194:反論書きます [Evenstar] 12/29 19:31
　│　├◆1195:お願いします [ゆっこ] 12/29 19:42
　│　│├◆1203:Re:お願いします [tomtom] 12/29 20:58
　│　│└◆1210:わたしもお願いします [ヘイゼル] 12/30 00:38
　│　├◆1197:反論途中にて（その１） [ハーブ] 12/29 20:23
　│　│└◆1200:反論途中にて（その２） [ハーブ] 12/29 20:35
　│　│　└◆1208:修正稿：投稿予定（長文） [ハーブ] 12/29 23:41
　│　│　　└◆1209:Re:修正稿：投稿予定（長.. [ゆっこ] 12/30 00:15
　│　│　　　└◆1215:投稿しました [ハーブ] 12/30 02:53
　│　│　　　　└◆1273:第一便・和訳の試み [ここのつ] 01/03 17:00<-last
　│　├◆1198:Re:反論書きます [さんちゃん] 12/29 20:25
　│　├◆1201:時系列説明を [ゴンドール国民] 12/29 20:36
　│　│└◆1207:私も頭数にお加えください [鉄の足ダイン] 12/29 23:28
　│　├◆1205:割り込んでごめんなさい [馳久] 12/29 21:36
　│　├◆1211:連名させてください [角笛] 12/30 00:45
　│　├◆1212:よろしくお願い致します [イルフ] 12/30 00:53
　│　├◆1213:連名お願いいたします [ＴＫ] 12/30 01:04
　│　│└◆1254:まだ連名間に合いますか？ [ピピン] 12/31 03:12
　│　│　└◆1258:はい、大丈夫です。 [Evenstar] 12/31 22:27
　│　├◆1217:部分的な反論書いたけど... [baldhatter] 12/30 05:24
　│　│├◆1218:誤植訂正 [baldhatter] 12/30 05:40
　│　││└◆1219:Re:誤植訂正追加　と　新ネ.. [あ、クマ犬（わーぐ）] 12/30 06:17
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　│　│││└◆1227:もちろんです [baldhatter] 12/30 12:51
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　│　│└◆1232:「ローカル星人」の代案 [baldhatter] 12/30 13:29
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　│　│├◆1238:私のメール・アドレス [Evenstar] 12/30 15:19
　│　│├◆1248:私の名前はカットしませう [baldhatter] 12/30 21:29
　│　││└◆1250:了解です [Evenstar] 12/30 23:51
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　│　││└◆1251:アドバイスに感謝 [Evenstar] 12/31 00:12
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　│　│├◆1255:【暫定案】和訳の試み [ここのつ] 12/31 03:19
　│　││└◆1263:感謝＆感激です！ [Evenstar] 01/01 11:27
　│　│└◆1262:【最終稿】TORnへの投稿記事 [Evenstar] 01/01 11:20
　│　│　└◆1264:【最終稿】和訳の試み [ここのつ＠1/18] 01/02 02:22
　│　│　　└◆1270:投稿＆和訳ありがとうご... [白い都] 01/03 00:48
　│　└◆1245:連名させてください [馳ねこ] 12/30 19:55
　├◆1214:戸田氏擁護対策 [トーマス] 12/30 02:18
　│├◆1221:ご存知かもしれないと思いますが [大ガラス] 12/30 08:22
　││└◆1226:戸田誤訳の例 [白い都] 12/30 12:47
　││　└◆1229:無念の「66回」 [baldhatter] 12/30 12:55
　││　　├◆1235:さすが [ハーブ] 12/30 14:59
　││　　└◆1239:Re:無念の「66回」 [微力ながら] 12/30 15:51
　│└◆1222:Re:戸田氏擁護対策 [ゆっこ] 12/30 08:26
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　　└◆1242:【私信】いか〜ん！ [Evenstar] 12/30 16:52
　　　└◆1246:運動目標はTRONに認められるこ... [白い都] 12/30 20:54
　　　　└◆1247:補足・PJとNLあてにも投書を... [白い都] 12/30 21:12
　　　　　└◆1252:「反論」はPJとNLには送り... [Evenstar] 12/31 01:24
　　　　　　└◆1256:Evenstarさまの「反論」... [白い都] 12/31 03:36