3 Novels by Shusaku Endo
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This study will examine three novels by the Catholic Japanese writer Shusaku Endo (Samurai, The Sea and Poison, and Silence), including consideration of the novelist's background, his style, the world about which he writes, and the influence his writing has had on the opening of Japan to Christianity. The study will argue that despite the uniqueness, power and subtlety of Endo's themes, message and style, he is more a product of the opening of Japan to the West which occurred after World War II than he is a cause of that opening. After all, Endo is "only" a novelist, and although he is popular in Japan, his influence on moving a non-Christian culture to greater acceptance or tolerance of a foreign religion is inevitably very limited. In fact, as we read, the Japanese public's response to The Samurai was to ignore the Christian implications entirely: "Reading what the reviewers have had to say about the book, one cannot help but feel that many Japanese consider it a gripping historical adventure tale and nothing more." Endo's novels The Samurai and Silence should be seen as both works of art and semi-historical accounts of Japan's past intolerance and persecution of Christians and Catholics. Even in the historical sense, however, Endo, as a novelist, focuses not necessarily on facts but on emotions. His appeal is not to the sense of history of the Japanese, but to their sense of compassion and humanity. On the other hand, there is no doubt that these novels reflect in gener
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aches! And then the Christ in bronze speaks to the priest: "Trample! Trample! I more than anyone know of the pain in your foot. Trample! It was to be trampled on by men that I was born into this world. It was to share men's pain that I carried my cross." The priest placed his foot on the fumie. Dawn broke. And far in the distance the cock crew.
This excerpt and the reference to the cock crowing, recalling the three denials of Christ by Peter, is meant to convey Endo's belief that even the most devout Christian cannot depend on his own will or courage, but should always acknowledge his own weakness and need to rely on Christ for his salvation.
Endo begins The Samurai with a Preface making clear his understanding and sympathy for Japanese leaders' fear of the West in the seventeenth century: "Japan was on the verge of being swallowed up into the extremely complex and perilous maelstrom of international politics. . . . Caught up in the middle of this vortex, Japan sensed the need to protect herself." The ruler at the time, Ieyasu, "was a devout Buddhist" intent on "suppress(ing) the Christian missionaries" through the manipulation "of four low-ranking samurai . . . and an ambitious Spanish priest." The book is based on these e
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Christianity Thelle, God Endo's, Samurai Preface, Whereas Hasekura, Christians Catholics, War II, God Hasekura's, Sea Poison, Trample Trample, Christ Bronze, sea poison, century japan, seventeenth century japan, japan's past, christ bronze, christians era, life japanese, christian missionaries, modern japanese, van leeuwen, seventeenth century,
Approximate Word count = 1650
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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