Shusako Endo's Silence

Director Martin Scorsese's Silence, starring Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, debuted on January 13th. I remember having read the book 20 years ago, during my time at the University of Hawaii. Over the past week, and particularly during this four-day weekend, I've been going through a whole bunch of papers around the house, and I found the paper I wrote for History 321 (Japanese History) on December 6th, 1996.

*****

From the arrival of Francis Xavier in 1549 to the Sakoku-rei (鎖国令, start of the isolation period）in 1639, the somewhat eurocentricly named "Christian Century" spans a ninety year period that witnessed the introduction, growth, decline, and virtual eradication of Christianity in Japan. Shusako Endo's novel Silence examines several issues in the life of Sebastian Rodrigues, a covert missionary in Japan during the final days of the era.

Throughout the novel one finds several important themes:

1. The blurring of the lines between strong and weak
2. The questioning of the true essence of Christianity and its potential for acceptance in the "swamp" of Japan
3. the questioning of God's character as a result of His lack of action in response to persecution

The relationship between Sebastian Rodrigues and Kichijiro progresses in three stages. It starts as hierarchical, then declines to betrayer-betrayed (like Judas and Jesus), ending finally with equality between the two men. Rodrigues' connection to Kichijiro begins in Macao when, of all the luck, the only guide he and Garrpe can find turns out to be a secretly apostate Japanese alcoholic. From the beginning, Kichijiro repulses Garrpe and Rodrigues, but is accepted for the task of leading them safely to the Christian community in Japan. Kichijiro's history of baptism, apostasy, and restoration poses an interesting dilemma throughout the novel -- what the qualifications exactly are for being a Christian, and how the priests should treat him. The Portugeuse priests, still fresh from seminary, disdain and fear him for having trampled on the thing they hold most dear, yet as priests they cannot cast him off and send him away. As a result, Kichijiro enters and exits the priests' lives at will, bringing with him a new plot twist every time.

After the village is dispersed, Rodrigues wanders the countryside until he again encounters Kichijiro, who after being tortured has again apostatized. The reward for exposing a priest, 300 silver pieces (laughably, this is ten times the reward for turning in a Christ), proves too great a temptation for Kichijiro to resist, and the ensuing betrayal closely resembles that of Jesus by Judas.

After Rodrigues tramples on the fumie, he and Kichijiro encounter each other yet another time, in Nagasaki. At this point, however, Rodrigues is a broken and bitter man, and does not feel worthy of administering forgiveness to anyone. Kichijiro speaks again on the difference between weak and strong, yet, considering the apparent strength of Rodrigues' character in the beginning, one cannot help but recognize the inconsistency. From the beginning to the end, one sees a decline in the stature of the priest that only an antihero like Kichijiro can provide.

Second of the notable themes is the evaluation of Christianity to determine if it could -- and if it should -- take root in Japan. The best arguments take place between Rodrigues and Inoue, with the divisiveness and arrogance of Europe at the heart of the issue. According to Inoue, the divisive Christian nations were vying for the attention of Japan, which was like an uninterested gentleman being chased by overzealous, ugly women. Because each nation was spreading rumors about the others, Inoue explained, Japan had correctly decided to expel all the external influences and stay with the tried-and-true religions of the state. At that point in history, the Shinto and Buddhist religions were under the indirect control of the state, whereas the Catholic Church was an unknown variable to the Tokugawa Shogunate (徳川幕府).

As to whether it even could grow, Catholicism did have quite a few strikes against it. One of the early missionaries, Cabral, despised Japanese culture, food, dress, architecture, and language, and forbade even those Japanese who graduated from the seminary school from becoming priests. As a result, Catholicism's growth was retarded by the early missionary's negative attitude toward the native Japanese.

In addition, Japan's history is peppered with introductions of new religions and sects that at first grow, then mature and decline as a reaction results. Just like interest in Chinese culture in the eighth and ninth centuries faded and then stopped in 838 AD, Japan's intense interest in Western culture could not last forever. Christianity had its chances for acceptance lowered by the divisiveness of Europe, its arrogant position in the early years, and Japan's tendency toward "fad" movements.

The third theme concerns the nature of God. Introduced in Rodrigues' first questioning, the role of God in man's sufferings was a great issue for theologians as well as both the Portuguese Catholic priest and his Japanese Buddhist questioners. As the interpreter stated it, "If it is true that God is really loving and merciful, how do you explain the fact that he gives so many trials and sufferings of all kinds to man on his way to Heaven?"

This issue of suffering is central to Buddhism -- life is defined as suffering, and the purpose of Buddhism is to let people out of the pain of samsara as soon as possible. What puzzles Rodrigues is the perception that God afflicts those who follow him more than those who disobey him. The concept of a loving and merciful God afflicting those He loves with unnecessary suffering seems illogical to both parties. Whether Christian or Buddhist, then, suffering is an integral part of life, but the question that Buddhism does not answer and Rodrigues bypasses in his response is the simple question, "Why is it that way?"

The very existence of suffering proves problematic, as indicated during the drownings in Chapter Seven. As the interpreter focuses on the priest with hate in his eyes and says, "Father, have you thought of the suffering you have inflicted on so many peasants just because of your dream?" According to Buddhist dogma, all of life is suffering, which was exactly what the Christians were having ended, courtesy of Inoue. By his comment one would neither think the man a Buddhist nor assume he had a position in the service of a Tokugawa shogun -- a shogun who had inherited his position and continued to control it by heavily taxing peasants. If there were anyone directly responsible for the peasants' conditions it would be the interpreter's employer. Though indicative of the secular line of thought prevalent in the Tokugawa period, Rodrigues fails to recognize the undertones of the question even when Ferreira, his former mentor, presses the issue during the book's climax.

Its extended form, "Why does God do nothing while his people suffer so grievously -- how can He be a god of love and mercy?" and its lack of an answer leads Rodrigues to apostatize to save the lives of three people who are also in agony. Rodrigues takes matters into his own hands and intervenes by trampling on God because, to him, his Almighty God has chosen not to act -- to stay silent. It is this theme that echoes the title, pitting the nature of God (love and mercy) against his lack of action. What is particularly striking about the whole affair is the referral to the Bible as the "Word of Gold," yet not once in Endo's book does Rodrigues -- a missionary priest in a very difficult situation -- ever refer to it for spiritual guidance.

Although Ferreira states that it is just a formality, the trampling on the fumie affects Rodrigues' psyche immensely. A juxtaposition of attitudes switches his perceptions of Ferreira and Kichijiro -- the former, once respected, now despised; the latter once despised, now understood. Although his motives were to stop the suffering of the Japanese Christians, there is no mention of their restoration after his apostasy. It appears as if he has forgotten all the lectures in seminary about love and forgiveness and forsaken -- at first in "formality," now in daily life -- his purpose for being in Japan. In spite of Ferreira's insistence that he is of use to Japan for his knowledge of surgery and astronomy, both his and Rodrigues' apostasy have made their lives as empty as Kichijiro's in Macao.

To conclude, Shusako Endo ties several themes together in his story of a Portuguese missionary priest who apostasies under duress in Japan. Kichijiro, Rodrigues, and Ferreira show that whether strong or weak, those who are high should not despise those who are low, for even the proudest can be humbled. Endo also examines the potential for the universal acceptance of a Eurocentric, divisive Catholicism in a country whose greatest desire after the Sengoku era(戦国時代) was harmony and peace. And finally, he looks at the nature of God's role in man's pain. From cover to cover, Endo's Silence compels one to consider the potential of both God and mankind, as well as the frailties of those who are considered strong.

*****

In retrospect, I can't say it's the best paper I've ever written, but did get me an A. And having been baptized roughly one year before the assignment, it was particularly meaningful to me at that time in my life. I remember wanting so hard to address the underlying core issue of the book -- "Why do bad things happen to good people?" -- but instead having to focus on the themes of the book instead.

From many accounts, Scorsese's movie is good, but -- having unearthed my old paper -- I doubt I'll need to see it.