Dear Ms. Boyens,

This is a petition from a Japanese fan of your film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", concerning its Japanese subtitles.

No praise can express how I admire your script, the miracle you and Mr. Jackson have worked for the world to see. Unfortunately however, my friends and I strongly believe that inaccurately translated subtitles distort what you and ultimately what J.R.R. Tolkien have created. I ask you to refer to the list of most serious errors attached at the end of this petition.

We learned that you spent two to three years with Mr. Peter Jackson to complete the script of "The Lord of the Rings" with due and profound respect to the Tolkien's work. Nevertheless, the Japanese translator, who is a well-known subtitler for foreign films, but who admits she has hardly read the original, has been allowed to spoil your endeavour. Some of the Japanese subtitles are not true to your script, and the errors are unrelated to the number-of-letters restriction (Japanese subtitles have limits on the number of letters per length of each scene). Unavoidably, in significant parts of the film, wrong interpretations of the storyline and the character-settings are forced upon the audience. Yet the fact remains that most Japanese rely on subtitles when they watch foreign films.

As soon as "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" was released in Japan, concerns were raised that downright and inexcusable errors in the subtitles should be corrected. These resulted in 1281 signatures for a petition on the Internet, which were sent to Nippon Herald Films Inc., the Japanese distributor, late in May. The reply, or rather a notice, was then posted on the Japanese official website of the film in early June. We found this announcement unacceptable: it did not contain a single word of apology for mistranslation, and nowhere was expressed any intention to correct the errors. It merely mentioned that the subtitles in DVD/VHS would be revised, reasoning that some minor changes would be possible this time out of simple technical reasons, the number-of-letters restriction being less strict in these media. To our great disappointment, we found that they decided to hire the same translator for the forthcoming "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King".

This petition was prepared to bring this deadlock to an end. It is now obvious that Nippon Herald will not admit their fault, despite the criticisms from the audience. We sincerely hope that a translator who honours your achievement and Tolkien's original work, and an authorized supervisor for translation are hired for the Japanese subtitles of the succeeding two films, "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King".

We are also sending the petition to Mr. Peter Jackson along the same line. If you would talk to him on this matter, we should be most grateful.

Sincerely yours,

[My Signature]
[My Name]

p.s.
A group of people, faithful readers of Tolkien and admirers of your film, have worked on this petition. They allow anyone who agrees with them to send the same petition individually, in the hope of drawing your attention.
I have loved the original books since I was a child (in Japanese translation). Many years I dreamed of the day this wonderful story would be visualized in a film.
I appreciate your brilliant achievement which has made it come true. Therefore I do personally wish to see a proper translation for your "The Lord of the Rings" films, and I took the chance to do something myself.
Ａ-1
Greetings! from Japan, where TTT will come in next March not This Christmas. We can hardly wait, but what's troubling us fans is:
"Will we have to see TTT and RotK with such terrible subtitles again?"
In FotR, Japanese fans were all shocked and dismayed to find Boromir called a LIAR, Denethor already DEAD, the wonderful climax totally spoiled by thetranslator. She has no knowledge, no love nor respect for the original.

We have been pleading for a correction, but the distributor NIPPON HERALD would not listen to us in spite of thousands of signatures on several petitions.
No apologies, no recognition that such erros ever existed, and The Same Translator is announced to stay in the position!

So we are sending mails and letters to Mr. Peter Jackson, great actors in LotR, and as many LotR fans as in the world, trying to inform you of this big problem which, we believe, is not ours alone.

To find out more about the serious errors in Japanese subtitles:
(1)＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
To show that you care, please join us and sign our guestbook:
(2)＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
Ａ-2
Dear Sean,

In Japan many girls fell in love with Boromir, in the movie 'the Lord of the Rings'. I am one of them, maybe a most enthusiastic fan of yours.* You played him so wonderfully, with such a real human feelings...Oh, I wish my English were better so that I could tell you how you moved me to tears. I have been to the theater 7 times to see the same movie, and not once you failed to make me cry! We do not have as many chances to see you on TV or on video's in my coutry as lucky people in your homeground. Just not yet. But I do my best to get every opportunity, and I have found you in other movies, old and new. I'm looking forward to seeing 'Sharp' which has not been introduced in Japan. It will be quite an exciting experience for me.

One thing I regret and resent, dear Sean, is that the translation in the Japanese subtitles did not do you justice in the movie 'the Fellowship of the Ring'. I was shocked to find the word LIAR was used for Boromir by Frodo. Soon I learned in some websites that the 'translation' of the script was terribly untrue to the original, and a petition for better work was made. I joined those thousands of LotR fans that have signed it. Have you heard anything about it? It's a BIG problem for us that many of the audience misunderstand the beauty of the character you and PJ created.

Well I'm sure you will make even greater success in your career to come and I'll always be your fan. Wish you the best luck in the world !

Yours,

p.s. I put in this envelope a small pack of ORIGAMI, Japanese paper-folding craft, hoping your daughters might find the colors and patterns interesting.
Ａ-3
Boromir, No Longer a Liar

Anxious days of waiting are finally over for the fans in Japan.

On the release of the video and DVD on September 21st, they found the "fatal mistranslations" in the Japanese subtitles on the FotR movie are not as they had seen in theaters.

"About 85% of the most serious errors are repaired," says one of the leaders in the movement for better and proper subtitles for FotR, "though it is regrettable some of them are still there." He is the one who sent a petition with 1281 signatures to Nippon Herald Films Inc., the Japanese distributor.

After such petitions and criticisms from the audience, a notice was posted on the official site in June. It did not contain a single word of apology for mistranslation, and nowhere was expressed any intention to correct the errors, but merely mentioned that the subtitles in DVD/VHS will be revised "because the number-of-letters restriction is less strict in these media."

This traditional euphemism to "save face" of the company and the subtitler made some of the fans very angry and gave others hope. It has turned out that the persons responsible are not blind after all. Frodo in DVD no longer calls Boromir a liar. And Denethor of Gondor is not dead this time.

Still, when you see FotR with revised subtitles, "the air is poison gas" in Mordor, and Boromir on the verge of death says to Aragorn, "I am ashamed" instead of "You did what I could not." Do you find these translations acceptable?

Now fans in Japan are looking forward to seeing TTT, just as any other fans in the world. But their anxieties wear different colors.
--------------------------
(If you are interested, you can find more examples of bad translation here:)
http://www.geocities.com/seatofkings/jtranslation.html
Ｂ-1
Dear Master PJ, and to all that love 'The Lord of the Rings'

Please SAVE OUR BELOVED BOROMIR from the DISHONOR so unjustly attached to him!

The shameful Japanese subtitles makes

a) Frodo call Boromir a LIAR;
b) Butterbur scornful of Hobbits, as having never seen such creatures before;
c) Denethor of Gondor DEAD;
d) Boromir use the word 'King of Gondor' in the MIDDLE of the story (an unbelievable mistranslation of the word 'lords of Gondor'),

and many other fatal mistakes.
However impossible it may sound to you, it is true. You'll find them in:

http://www.petitiononline.com/lotr1/petition.html

The translator has absolutely no respect nor love for Tolkien's world. She knew nothing about the original books, and did not bother to learn from them. It is obvious she at once took it as 'just another kids' movie' with magics and swords and monsters. So she did a hasty and lousy job.

As you may know, Japanese language has a rich variety of modes concerning 'respect' and 'positions'. Any Japanese can give you a dozen of different words meaning 'I' or 'you'. Just reading a line "I know him" in Japanese can tell you clearly the age, sex, educational level and much more of the speaker (and of course whether the person is speaking to his/her superior).

Now note that these differences cannot be translated into English, and are hard to explain with credibility. But they are what messed up your celebrated film.
Wrong translations have led the innocent audience to misunderstand, not only each character (like Boromir as a cheap, simple bad guy) but also the relationships between one character and another. Imagine Sam talking to Frodo the way a VIP to his chauffeur! (Believe me, this too she has done. I suspect she couldn't even tell them apart.)

How could she be so blind to all the marvelous work you and your actors have accomplished?

She MUST be replaced.
If we faithful readers of Tolkien in Japan --- still regrettably small in number --- cannot make it happen with our petition, YOU CAN!

Master PJ, you have the authority. Could you discuss it with your distributor, NIPPON HERALD, on this matter?

Already more than one translator have offered new and far better versions. All we need is the distributor's decision. We heartily admire what you have achieved in 'The Fellowship of the Ring'. We love every scene of it, and we are looking forward to seeing "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King".
Please don't let your LotR movies be degraded again by such criminal subtitles !

（署名）, at your service
Dear Sir Ian,

A latecomer?
In Japan, we were kept waiting for 3 months longer than other fans in the world. But it is nothing compared to the great pain and misfortune that has befallen us. Your celebrated film, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, has been terribly twisted and degraded by serious errors in the translation. Have you heard anything about it?
The shameful Japanese subtitles makes

a) Frodo call Boromir a LIAR;
b) Butterbur scornful of Hobbits, as having never seen such creatures before:
c) Denethor of Gondor DEAD;
d) Boromir use the word 'King of Gondor' in the MIDDLE of the story
(an unbelievable mistranslation of the word 'lords of Gondor'),

and many other fatal mistakes.
However impossible it may sound to you, it is true. You'll find them in:

http://www.geocities.com/seatofkings/jtranslation.html

And Gandalf, Sir, in The Two Towers trailer, says: "Sauron is not so mighty, not worth fearing" in every theater in Japan now. How could it happen? Please read on.

The translator has absolutely no respect nor love for Tolkien's world. She knew nothing about the original books, and did not bother to learn from them. It is obvious she at once took it as 'just another kids' movie' with magics and swords and monsters. So she did a hasty and lousy job.

We faithful readers of Tolkien in Japan were abashed, dismayed and now are very, very angry. As soon as the movie appeared on screen in March, many fans have pointed out those mistakes but they stay on screen uncorrected.

Petitions have been made with some two thousands of signatures, and have been delivered to the distributor NIPPON HERALD. They put up a statement at their official Web site on June 13th.

Now what do you think they tell us? Believe it or not, NO apologies, NO mention of any mistakes, NOT a word concerning the petitions. Instead, they announce that the same translator will continue to be in the place throughout all the LotR movies.

Turmoil and hot discussions burst out on the internet. Many conclude it is hopeless. Some patiently keep writing letters to the Japanese distributor, trying to show them how serious the matter is, getting polite nothing for answer. Only a few that can write in English now turn to seek help and understanding of yours---of the people who have accomplished the marvellous work in the masterpiece of the century. The petition should have reached the director Peter Jackson by now, but personally I would very much like you, Sir Ian McKellen, to know about it.

How could we tolerate the world of Tolkien being so distorted, made full of shallow characters and cheap words, simply because the distributor chose a wrong translator? A well-known Hollywood-worshipper, she is not in the least sorry about her utter ignorance of English literature (in fact she openly scorns 'the bookish'). It is such a pain to have to see the exquisite film* getting stamped with dirty feet. I think you understand it better than any other members that have worked for the movie LotR. Please help us make the Japanese distributor see what crime they have committed and prevent them from doing the same with the following two films.

at your service,

Akira Takahashi
Mari Takahashi

p.s. In case you are too busy to have a look at this E-mail, we're sending letters like this to other people, too. But you are on top of our list. May fortune help us to reach you!