ABSTRACT
In Japan, the English expression garden city is translated as den-en toshi. This has been an established Japanese expression for nearly seventy years and is now used in everyday conversation. Very few Japanese know the expression originated with Ebenezer Howard (1898; 1902), but some know it came from England. Many more people associate the expression with some desirable image of the city, although the concrete image may differ from person to person. However, if we look at the expression carefully, it can be seen to be a mistranslation. The word toshi is a proper translation for city, but there is a problem with den-en. Den-en arouses a great nostalgia for the countryside in most Japanese. It suggests images of wide green paddy fields, quiet rural villages, and a comfortable breeze. Thus Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, Pastorale, is translated as den-en. In fact then the Japanese word den-en is the equivalent of the English country or countryside. It often represents non-urban or even antiurban values. Actually, garden city should have been translated as tei-en toshi.
