Jacques Lacan’s references to Japanese in the course of his Séminaire livre XVIII: D’un discours qui ne serait du semblant (1970-1971) have inspired me to relate some of the notions he develops (those dealing with the nature of language and writing) to my experience with the translation of a literary text written in Japanese: Takekurabe (1895-1896) by Ichiyô Higuchi. During this period Lacan distances himself from the structural model characterizing the first years of his teachings, and proposes the concepts of letter and writing. The recourse to the signifier no longer suffices to explain the experience of psychoanalysis, and the aim of the new literal references is to stop the reader from falling into the trap of an unnuanced, too-easy or obvious interpretation. In Lacan’s hands, literariness – even when dealing with everyday speech – has become the most relevant quality in the dimension of man’s language. Because of the very particular use that Japanese makes of Chinese script, he is able to use it as a basis for his reflections on the importance of writing as an element which disturbs the deceptive immediacy provided by understanding. Writing, then, offers the possibility of analyzing the language of the text beyond its superficial meaning.