color/primary Fill 117 Created with Sketch. Professor Emeritus of English Luke Reinsma reflects on Endo's great novel.

It is not until the very final chapter that Rodrigues comes to terms with God and all the events that have happened to him in Japan. Shusaku Endo's Silence: Novelist sought a Christianity that speaks to the Japanese soul Novelist Shusaku Endo sought a Christianity that speaks to the Japanese soul. For most of the book Rodrigues feels that God has chosen to be silent about the suffering of His people. He draws parallels between himself and Christ as he is betrayed by Judas, persecuted by the Jews, and finally nailed to a cross. The time in prison and the treatment of other prisoners forces Rodrigues to reflect on his own faith. Rodrigues knows of several priests who have apostatized following being suspended in 'the pit' and figures that it is only a matter of time before he too is subjected to severe torture. Nagasaki is the traditional seat of the magistrate, Inoue, who is responsible for the interrogation and torture of all captured Christians. Rodrigues is shifted between various holding huts before landing in a prison cell outside of Nagasaki, Japan. Kichijiro promises to take Rodrigues to another safe village but after several days of walking the priest is captured by officials. As he struggles across the mountains he encounters Kichijiro, who has been trailing the priest for some time. Rodrigues sails across the sea but fails to find another village to hide in. Garrpe and Rodrigues decide that it would be best for everyone if they separate and leave the village. One day, officials come to the village looking for hidden Christian items. The priests have little contact with other villages and learn nothing about the fate of Ferreira. Their contact, Kichijiro, locates a group of Christian peasants willing to hide the priests in a charcoal hut just outside their village. Santa Marta is deemed too ill to travel, and so only Rodrigues and Garrpe arrive in Tomogi, Japan. After much discussion the priests obtain Valignano's permission to secure a Chinese ship and continue on to Japan. Valignano, the administrator for the Society of Jesus working in Macao, forbids the priests from continuing their journey. However, once the three priests land in China, they are informed that all Portuguese ships from Macao to Japan have been prohibited.

Rodrigues, Francisco Garrpe, and Juan de Santa Marta gain permission from their Superiors in Portugal to make the journey from Lisbon to Macao. Ferreira has been working in Japan for over thirty years but correspondence from the priest abruptly ceased, and only a few tales of how Ferreira apostatized following several torturous days suspended in the pit tell what happened. They hope togain entrance into Japan in order to locate their former teacher, Christovao Ferreira. Rodrigues and two of his friends journey to Macao, China. More specifically, Endo traces the life of Sebastian Rodrigues, a Portuguese missionary from the Society of Jesus, as he tries to survive as a Christian priest working in Japan. Silence is the story of the Japanese persecution of Christians that occurred in the 1600s.

Silence shusaku endo quotes