Born Untranslatable? Minae Mizumura’s Literary Multilingualism in Shishōsetsu from Left to Right

Abstract This article explores Minae Mizumura’s practice of literary multilingualism in her bilingual work Shishōsetsu from Left to Right (1995) and its subsequent English translation, An I-Novel (2021). It examines how Mizumura weaves Japanese and English to navigate questions of linguistic identity, cultural belonging, and the dominance of English in world literature. The analysis highlights three key aspects: 1) the novel as an intercultural semi-autobiography negotiating interlingual tensions, 2) Mizumura’s depiction of interlingual asymmetry and her defense of writing in Japanese, and 3) the paradox posed by the English translation of a work initially considered resistant to translation. Through close reading and theoretical reflection, the article shows how Mizumura’s multilingual strategy both challenges and engages with translation, advocating linguistic diversity while acknowledging the transformative power of ongoing interlingual exchange.