Found in Translation: An Interview with the Harvard Senior who Translated Red Sox Closer Koji Uehara’s Blog

As everyone should know by now, the Red Sox won the World Series last week. There's been much hype about the players, especially Red Sox closer Koji Uehara. It was hard for Red Sox fans to understand what Uehara was feeling under pressure in the final moments of the World Series, however, since he speaks little English. That is, until Yohei Oka, a senior at Harvard who is originally from Tokyo, translated Uehara’s Japanese blog into English. Thanks to Oka, we at Flyby (along with the rest of Red Sox Nation) were able to get a glimpse of Koji Uehara and what he’s all about.

Flyby asked Oka, via email, a few questions about Uehara’s blog and how he got involved. Here's what he wrote.

Flyby: What made you decide to translate Koji's blog? How did you get the gig?
Yohei Oka: I received an email from [Theodore J.] Gilman, [executive] director of the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies [at Harvard], saying that a writer from the Boston Globe was looking for someone to translate Koji's blog. I'm a big fan of the Red Sox and all Japanese players playing in the major leagues, so I jumped at this opportunity and spent all of last weekend translating his blog posts from the beginning of the post season.

Flyby: What has it been like translating the blog?
Y.O.: I've done many translating jobs in my life but this was by far the most interesting. I think that watching a lot of baseball games both in English and Japanese has helped me with all the terminology and accurately translating what he writes in Japanese to English. I think that a professional translator who isn't interested in baseball would have had trouble with all the baseball talk.

Flyby: Why do you think people are interested in reading the translated blog?
Y.O.: I think that a lot of people are interested in what Koji has to say because he doesn't speak much English and we don't know what he's thinking. He's had an incredible year and just came out of nowhere. We all think he's a strike throwing machine, but he is also human, and his blog captures that side of him.

Flyby: Do you have any thoughts about the World Series? Were you already interested in baseball and the Red Sox before you helped translate Koji's blog?
Y.O.: I'm a big baseball fan. I'm also super happy that the Red Sox won during my final year at Harvard. It wasn't the only reason, but part of why I chose to come here to study. I've been a fan of the Sox since Dice-K and Okajima pitched in '07 and have made several trips to Fenway over the past three years. I used to watch a lot of MLB games even when I was living in Tokyo, and watched a lot this year because so many Japanese players had great seasons (Uehara, Tazawa, Darvish, Kuroda, Iwakuma, etc...).

I feel that ever since the marathon bombings, Boston has shown solidarity and that the Sox have been an embodiment of "Boston Strong." They've been a resilient team as you can see from all the comebacks during the post season, and just super fun to watch.

Flyby: What was your favorite part about translating his blog? Also, any favorite quotes from Koji?
YO: I had never seen his blog before (I don't really follow anyone's blog) but it was very fascinating to see what goes on inside his head and I now see him pitch in a totally new way. The way he talks about every pitch and every batter he faces reflects his professionalism and his genuine love for the game. Just from reading his blog, you can tell that he's a super modest guy and just crazy in love with the game. Some favorite quotes from his blog include when he's being carried by Ortiz after closing a game and writes: "Am I that light? Or maybe it's that Papi is too strong. I don't mind being carried like this many more times." He also uses a lot of emoticons in his blog which helps express his enthusiasm. After clinching the ALCS, he wrote: “We did it!!! American League Champions!!!  ＼(^o^)／＼(^o^)／＼(^o^)／ I’m so so happy! And to top it all off, I was selected as MVP (#^.^#)(#^.^#)”