Miyuki Ono is a Japanese science fiction writer who came to the public eye with a novel, Pure, about a woman who had to eat men in order to get pregnant.
That sounds like a very unfriendly way to ensure the continuation of the species, if you ask us!
As interesting as the plotline was the author’s approach to the issue of translation. Although Japan publishes about 13,000 books every year, only a tiny fraction is translated into English, and even fewer into other foreign languages. Japanese publishers, and their overseas counterparts, just aren’t convinced that the market is big enough to justify printing lots of copies in languages other than Japanese.
Instead, Miyuki Ono worked with her translators to release her novel in English in the form of an NFT, or non-fungible token, a unique digital identifier recorded on a blockchain that certifies ownership and authenticity. This bypasses expensive printing costs and allows profits to go to the author and her translator. The hope is that this will create a larger market for Japanese books overseas, increasing their profile and making Japanese literature more accessible to a wider reading public.
Photo Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/woman-in-black-long-sleeve-shirt-standing-beside-woman-in-white-long-sleeve-shirt-ZGqbKjqr1kU
