Posted: 15th Feb 2024
Back in 2020, I was put in touch with film director John Maclaverty, who was looking to translate a 45 minute video interview with Japanese producer Yoshio Kō.
Sometimes known as 伝説のプロデューサー (densetsu no purodyuusaa - the legendary producer) or, in his own words, 虚業家 (kyogyōka - a risky businessman), Kō is quite the enigma, and I’ll be honest: this was quite likely the most challenging piece of translation work I’ve ever undertaken, involving a lot of transcription (tough at the best of times) of some quite unbelievable, often mumbled tales riddled with names such as Prince Charles, Muhammed Ali and Oliver the Chimpanzee.
Having wondered for some time whatever became of the project, I was stunned to see the full film, Loch Ness: They Created a Monster, turn up in the listings at my local cinema and, soon after, on iPlayer towards the end of last year!
While the story of Yoshio Kō and the Japanese mission to find Nessie naturally forms just one part of the film, I still recommend checking it out if you have even the most passing of interests in the Loch Ness Monster and how she came to be such a huge phenomenon worldwide - including in Japan.
Thank you to director John Maclaverty for involving me in this spectacular project!
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