Silence by Shusaku Endo (Kodansha)

After reading Donald Keene’s autobiography, I was moved by his love of classical Japanese literature and was inspired to read another book by a well known Japanese literary author. In the past, my Japanese mother strongly suggested that I read works by Yukio Mishima and Natsume Soseki. She looked down on my love of science-fiction and fantasy. I reluctantly read books by both authors, Yukio Mishima’s “The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea” and Natsume Soseki’s “Botchan”, mostly to please my mother. Now, I wanted to read some classic Japanese literature by choice but which author’s books should I choose? 

I decided on Silence by Shusaku Endo for a couple of reasons. The first reason is simple. I had seen the movie adaptation of the novel and thought it was a great story. The second is the subject matter which centers around a relatively unknown group of people - the Japanese Christians. Endo presents a conflict between East and West, “especially in its relationship to Christianity.” Endo is quoted as saying, “Christianity must adapt itself radically if it is to take root in the ‘swamp’ of Japan.”

The story is set during a time when Christianity is banned and people who are caught practicing the religion are executed by burning. However, the burnings didn’t produce the desired effect as the condemned became martyrs in the eyes of other believers. The Shogunate realizes this and changes their tactics where death is  “preceded by torture in a tremendous effort to make the martyrs apostatize.” 

News had reached the Church in Rome, “Christovao Ferraira, sent to Japan sent to Japan by the Society of Jesus in Portugal, after undergoing the torture of ‘the pit’ at Nagasaki has apostatized.” Three fathers in the Society of Jesus, Sebastian Rodrigues, Francis Garrpe and Juan de Santa Marta, are currently working in the Dutch colony of Macao. After hearing about the situation in Japan, they are desperate to reach the shores of Japan even though Japan has cut all ties with Portugal. 

Rodrigues writes in a letter and relates Juan de Santa Marta’s words who says, “In that stricken land the Christians have lost their priests and are like a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Some one must go to give them courage and to ensure that the tiny flame of faith does not die out.” He also says, it is their duty to seek out their teacher, Father Ferraira, to find out the truth. Did Ferreira really apostatize or was it a lie spread by the Dutch and the English.

The Head Priest in Macao gave permission to Rodrigues and Gaarpe on the condition that they leave Juan de Santa Marta in Macao who was showing signs of catching malaria. In Macao the two Fathers meet their first Japanese, a twenty-nine or thirty-year old, unshaven and drunk man named Kichijiro. 

Two priests accompanied by a Japanese man named Kichijiro manage to reach the shores of Japan during the night so as not to be spotted. Gaarpe does not trust Kichijiro as he would not answer the simple question, “Are you a Christian?”  Father Rodrigues gives Kichijiro the benefit of the doubt and is pleased that Kichijiro has found some hidden Christians. Word spreads quickly and other Christians in hiding come to see the priests. Unfortunately, it isn’t only the Christians that have heard the news that there are foreign Fathers on Japanese soil. The news has reached the local government officials as well. 

Once the searching commences, the two Fathers are separated. Father Rodrigues cannot go back to his original hiding place and wanders the land with Kichijiro as his guide. Father Rodrigues is then betrayed by Kichijiro and is captured. However, the local daimyo doesn’t order Father Rodrigues’s execution but plays psychological games with him to convince the Father to apostatize in front of the other captured Christians. 

The Silence of the title is Father Rodgrigues’s question to God. Why does He remain silent as Christians are persecuted, tortured and killed? However,  the real question is, will Father Rodrigues apostatize to save the suffering of other Christians or will he defend his faith until his own end? ~Ernie Hoyt