Karen Brazell (April 25, 1938– January 18, 2012) was an American professor and translator of Japanese literature.
Her English language edition of The Confessions of Lady Nijō won a U.S. National Book Award in category Translation.
Brazell spent the bulk of her teaching career as Goldwin Smith Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature and Theatre at Cornell University.
[5] Brazell was also a visiting professor at University of California-Berkeley, Columbia University, Singapore National University, the National Institute of Japanese Literature in Tokyo and the Kyoto Center for Japanese Studies.
[5] She was founder of the Global Performing Arts Consortium and served as its first director.