What is the Order of Operations for translating sentences which have both passive form and relative clauses?


The bolded sentence in the following excerpt contains the [passive
form](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/52131/26406) of a verb which is
also being used in a relative clause. Should I translate the verb as a
relative clause first, then transcribe the relative clause as the "evil act"
in the passive form format? Or should I first translate the sentence using the
passive form first, then transcribing the relative clause into the passive
translation? Or does the order of translation not matter at all?

> コレクションの手入れには、厳密な順序がある。 **作業は、銃の開発された年代順を忠実に追って進める。**

I understand that the "Victim" or "person/thing affected by the passive verb"
(denoted by は or が, according to Genki II textbook and [linked
answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/52131/26406)) would be 作業. I am
uncertain if passive sentences can exist without a "villain" or "doer of
passive verb" preforming the passive verb to make the "victim" suffer, as my
two sources have "Villains/doer's" in their examples. More research is
required on this, but I think the "doer" would be 忠実 in the bolded sentence;
_if_ a "doer" to perform the "evil act" is required as a prerequisite for
passive sentence formation. The "evil act" would be the passive form of the
verb, 開発された.

Relative Clause: 開発された

Main Noun: 年代順




You don't seem to be parsing the sentence correctly, I'm afraid.

作業 is the object of 進める. 作業 is the topic of the sentence, so it's marked with
は. This 作業 refers to コレクションの手入れ in the previous sentence.

「銃の開発された」(can be rephrased 銃 **が** 開発された) is a relative clause that modifies
「年代順」.

「（銃の開発された）年代順を（忠実に）追って」 describes how they conduct(進める) the work(作業).

「忠実に」"faithfully" adverbially modifies the verb 「追って」"following". (忠実に is the
adverbial form/連用形 of the na-adjective 忠実な.)

* * *

The basic structure is:

> 作業は、［年代順を追って］進める.  
>  As for the work, we conduct it [following the chronological order].  
>  ⇓  
>  作業は、［年代順を（忠実に）追って］進める。  
>  As for the work, we conduct it [(faithfully) following the chronological
> order].  
>  ⇓  
>  作業は、［（銃の開発された）年代順を（忠実に）追って］進める。  
>  As for the work, we conduct it [(faithfully) following the chronological
> order (in which the guns were developed)].




You don't seem to be parsing the sentence correctly, I'm afraid.

作業 is the object of 進める. 作業 is the topic of the sentence, so it's marked with
は. This 作業 refers to コレクションの手入れ in the previous sentence.

「銃の開発された」(can be rephrased 銃 **が** 開発された) is a relative clause that modifies
「年代順」.

「（銃の開発された）年代順を（忠実に）追って」 describes how they conduct(進める) the work(作業).

「忠実に」"faithfully" adverbially modifies the verb 「追って」"following". (忠実に is the
adverbial form/連用形 of the na-adjective 忠実な.)

* * *

The basic structure is:

> 作業は、［年代順を追って］進める.  
>  As for the work, we conduct it [following the chronological order].  
>  ⇓  
>  作業は、［年代順を（忠実に）追って］進める。  
>  As for the work, we conduct it [(faithfully) following the chronological
> order].  
>  ⇓  
>  作業は、［（銃の開発された）年代順を（忠実に）追って］進める。  
>  As for the work, we conduct it [(faithfully) following the chronological
> order (in which the guns were developed)].

