Is Helen Keller Described as "Kiseki no Hito" in America as well as in Japan?

Lost in translation #3

Abstract

In Japan, Helen Keller is almost always described as kiseki no hito, which literally means “the person of miracle.” This is because the Japanese title of Kiseki no Hito translated ambiguously from the title of William Gibson's play and its film adaptation The Miracle Worker was mistakenly considered to refer to Helen, and it became established as a synonym for Helen. It has gradually become clear to some Japanese people, however, that the original English title of The Miracle Worker does not refer to Helen, but to Anne Sullivan. For this reason, in recent years, some differences of opinion have arisen about who should be described as kiseki no hito. Many Japanese still consider Helen to be true kiseki no hito, but in fact, they are not sure whether Helen is described as "kiseki no hito" in America, her native country, as well as in Japan. Are there any English phrases which correspond to the Japanese phrase kiseki no hito? In this paper, I would like to clarify the issues surrounding the phrase kiseki no hito by exploring the existence of English equivalents to kiseki no hito from a Japanese-English comparative perspective.