A very important book about the diplomatic relations between Portugal and Japan during the World War II written by Morishima Morito, the Japanese ambassador in Lisbon from 1942 to 1946.
Pearl Harbor, Lisboa, Tóquio [Pearl Harbor, Lisbon, Tokyo, original title] is a document of particular interest in the history of the diplomatic relations between Portugal and Japan during World War II.
Written in 1950 by the Japanese Ambassador in Lisbon Morishima Morito (1896-1975), it is a book of memories that includes very personal and precise insights on the process of war declaration from Japan to the US and meetings that the Japanese diplomat had with António de Oliveira Salazar, the Portuguese President of the Council of Ministers, concerning the occupation of Timor by Japanese troops. This section certainly has a particular interest to Portugal, as it will stimulate a reflection on political and military strategies hitherto unknown due to the fact that this text has never been translated to any language and remains only accessible to Japanese speakers.
For an independent publisher like me, the edition of Pearl Harbor, Lisboa, Tóquio presupposes a challenge that can only be achieved through a Crowdfunding campaign that will finally allow for the translation and publication of a book that provides such an important contribute for the political, diplomatic and military history of the period it comprises.
1. The book and its translation
Despite several reprints of the original Japanese book, its text was never updated and still presents several old kanji forms, which hinder the translation.
One of the translators of the book is a Japanese citizen living in Portugal since 1957, who is well-acquainted with the text of the book.
Pearl Harbor, Lisboa, Tóquio is not translated into any other language, which means that the Portuguese edition will be the first foreign version of the text, which may constitute the basis for subsequent editions in other languages.
2. The Edition
As I have no funds available to proceed with a commercial publication, which would entail several fees, namely the payment of an advance to the editor; royalty trading; storage; promotion, and distribution of the book, I received from the publisher Iwanami Shoten (http://www.iwanami.co.jp) and from the current holder of the author rights (Yagi Hanako, daughter of Morishima Morito), the permission for a NON-COMERCIAL PURPOSE edition of 100 copies.
For the edition of 100 copies of 180/196 pages each, it will be necessary to raise 4700.00 Euros. Of these, over 60% are for the payment of the translation and the remaining funds go for layout, proofreading, cover and printing.
Five copies of the Portuguese edition will be sent to the Japanese publisher and other five will go for the copyright holder.
The remaining copies will be distributed to libraries, universities and faculties in which courses of History, International Relations, and Oriental Culture Studies are taught.
3. Funders
Two pages of the book are reserved to the acknowledgement of ALL those who support the project. The various “rewards” are displayed in the indicated boxes (on the right).
A capa do livro a editar em português
