Join the Team

Call for Translators — Meiji Literary Criticism

The ERC project NONWESTLIT at the University of Bologna is looking for one or more translators to render a selection of Meiji-era literary criticism from Japanese into English. The work is paid, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis from mid-November 2026. 

The project and the volume 

NONWESTLIT (ERC Starting Grant, GA 950513) studies how literary criticism took shape in Meiji Japan, the late Ottoman Empire and nineteenth-century Russia. One of its outputs is a three-volume series of nineteenth-century criticism in English translation, one volume per tradition. 

The Japanese volume, co-edited by Taka Oshikiri and Ozen Dolcerocca, gathers around 20 essays and excerpts from the Meiji period on the novel, poetry, language reform and literary history. The series will be published open access by Amsterdam University Press, and translators will be credited on every text. 

Translator Profile  

• Experience reading and translating Meiji-era Japanese into English, including classical and kanbun-inflected prose 
• Native or near-native command of English 
• A background in Japanese studies (particularly literature or intellectual history) or in a related field; doctoral candidates are welcome to apply 
• Published translations are an advantage, but not required 

Terms 

• Payment: the fee depends on the translator's experience. 

• Contract: a collaboration contract with the University of Bologna, issued through the university's selection procedure for external collaborators. 

• Workload: the texts may go to one translator or be shared among several. 

• Timeline: all translations are due by the end of July 2027. 

• Location: the work is done remotely. 

How to apply 

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and screening begins on 18 November 2026. The call stays open until the positions are filled. 

Please send the following to lilec.nonwestlit@unibo.it, with "Meiji translation" in the subject line: 

1. A CV, including any published translations 
2. A short statement (one page at most) on your experience with Meiji texts 
3. If you have already translated a Meiji text, a copy of that translation