Three tales in the outset of the exchange Spain-Japan

Abstract

Juan Valera, one of the most distinguished authors of Spanish literature in 19^th century translated and published two Japanese tales in 1887. They are Pescadorcito Urashima (浦島太郎) and El espejo de Matsuyama (松山鏡), both of them are of common knowledge in Japan. While Urashima Tarō has its first record in Nihonshoki, Matsuyama kagami has Buddhist origin and was transmitted to Japan converted into a popular tale rooted in Echigo region (present day Niigata Prefecture). This tale has versions in the noh theatre, kyōgen and rakugo. On the other hand, the tale of Little Mouse Pérez, of which no Spanish child would be ignorant, was published in 1911 in Spain and was translated into Japanese in 1953 by Iwanami Shoten. The temporal distance between these two publications signals various historical factors that both nations went through during this lapse of time. Although it deals with a field not well acknowledged until now, we must admit the fact that the communication power of children’s literature is highly significant when we talk about the early cognition of the world images. This work will deal with the elements that inspired Valera for creating the translation of these two tales into Spanish as well as the case of the Spanish tale within Japan. At the same time, we will observe the reception and the assessment of these tales in both countries.