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Bookclub: "Silence"
Presented by Francis Tanabe
Washington Post Book World Senior Editor
Thursday, Oct. 31, 2002; Noon ET
Welcome to the online meeting of The Washington Post Book Club, a monthly program presented by the editors and writers of Washington Post Book World.
This month Post Book World senior editor Francis Tanabe will be leading a discussion on this month's selection, "Silence" by Shusaku Endo. Read this month's review of "Silence."
Tanabe joined the Book World staff in 1972 as a researcher when the new tabloid book section began. Later he became layout editor and a book reviewer. Born in Tokyo, Tanabe attended Sophia University in Tokyo, received a B.A. and an M.A. in political science from The George Washington University.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Francis Tanabe: Welcome to the Washington Post's online discussion of Shusaku Endo's "Silence." Just a brief background: This historical novel was published in Japan in 1966 and translated by William Johnston three years later.The Washingotn Post published a review of this book in 1979 soon after Taplinger published it for the general American audience. Since then, the book has been translated into over a dozen languages.
Other works by Endo (who died in 1996) that has been translated into English are: "Samurai," "Deep River," "When I Whistle," "Volcano," and "The Sea and Poison."
I finished rereading this novel just this morning. I had forgotten how powerful this novel is. When I came to the passage where Sebastian Rodrigues finally apostasizes, my face was wet with tears. I haven't really analyzed this unusual reaction on my part, but I wonder if other readers were similarly moved?
Arlington, Va.:
One of the most moving elements in Silence to me were the depictions of Japanese peasants martyred for their Christian belief. The scene where a peasant is tied to a post on the beach and drowned by the rising tide was especially poignant.
Endo does not seem to provide any linkage between martyrdom and redemption. The sacrifices made for faith, including those of the Jesuits, have no impact on the immediate course of events or the future history of Japan (not specified in the book but inferred).
Can you comment on whether you believe Endo sees martyrdom for faith as honorable or ultimately meaningless?
Wes
Francis Tanabe: Endo's ultimate sympathy seems to lie with the suffering Christ, the martyrdom that we can only empathize with or, for some, have experienced and died but not on the same scale. His sympathies lie also with the cowards, like Kichijiro, who are not very honorable. Although the novel does not pass judgment on the issue of martyrdom, I think Endo is full of admiration for the courageous. He has studied the history of Japanese Christianity and his conversion to that faith and his extensive research, it seems to me, is in a way, to honor past martyrs and missionaries who have died in Japan.
Riverdale, Md.:
It was an emotional part of the story. I could not help to sympathize with Rodrigues.
Francis Tanabe: I agree. The dilemma Rodrigues faced, whether to save the lives of those who are suffering, and thereby renounce his faith by stepping on the image of Christ, was to me heart wrenching but ultimately the right decision. As the novel reveals, the suffering Christ is full of compassion.
Lenexa, Kan.:
Mr. Tanabe: A powerful novel--will always remember this part of history better (the Christian experience in Tokugawa Japan). BW was blurbed on the cover calling the transl. brilliant "without a line akilter." Assume your words? The intro by William Johnston provided marvelous help as well. Did you ever meet Endo or have any dealings with Johnston?
You ask how Endo's story is relevant to the world around us. Johnston also says that in his opinion not only can't Hellenized Christianity be simply planted in the "swamp of Japan" it also does not fit the modern West (without some rethinking)?
At novels's end, I liked the priest (now derided as "Apostate Paul") hearing the anguished Kichijiro's confession (schism according to the Church) but a great progression in his own life to the love of Man. Your thoughts? Thanks.
Francis Tanabe: I've read many novels by Endo in Japanese but not "Silence." The English version was so well done. Our reviewer was Ivan Gold who said the translation was brilliant without a line akilter.
I did talk to Endo on the phone for a report on the publishing scene in Japan. That was about 10 years ago.
I think Endo, to some extent, shares the comment by the magistrate that Christianity cannot be successful in "the swamp of Japan." Still today, the number of Christians in Japan is less than 1 percent.
Crofton, Md.: Why were the Shogun so afraid of Christianity coming into their country? If
they felt that it was such an outrageosly
wrong-headed religion?
Francis Tanabe: Christianity was very successful until the shoguns in powerful became alarmed. Some 100,000 were converted in a few decades. Entire fiefdoms converted.
The danger that Hideyoshi and the Tokugawa shoguns saw was the connection of religion with the Spanish, Portuguese, British and Dutch empires.
Arlington, Va.:
I'm not sure if this is the right place to respond to your initial query. I am deeply impressed by Endo's ability to create pathos, and was also moved by the story at many points. Do you find similar pathos in his other novels, or does Silence stand out in that respect?
Wes
Francis Tanabe: I also liked "Samurai," also based on a true historic incident when a group of samurai sailed to Acapulco. They return to a Japan that has shut its doors to foreign influence, when Christians were hounded until they apostasized.
Crofton, Md.:
This is one of the moxgt chilling stories of evil I have ever read. It truly is a masterpiece. Isn't the relevance to today the theme of religious extremism (the Japanese shogun) gone too far? I would love to now what the Japanese of today think of the book.
Francis Tanabe: We do live in a world where religious intolerance is practiced, as you know. Images of Muslims imprisoned in Guantanamo crossed my mind; also Jews in Europe during World War II. In the latter case, even if the Jews renounced their faith, they were still put to death. I just hope this conflict I see growing among Judaisim, Christianity and Muslims, and perhaps other religions is resolved without violence.
Riverdale, Md.:
Hello,
What do you believe is the primary message of Silence?
What do you believe Endo is saying about 16th century Japanese society?
Do you feel their are any parallels to the Spanish inquisition and the domination of the church over the state in Medieval Europe?
Wyatt
Francis Tanabe: I'm sure there are historians among our discussion group who can better answer your question about parallels with the Spanish inquisition. When you think about it, there were draconian measures to push back Moslems (and Jews) out of Spain and Portugal around the time Columbus discovered America. Any comments?
Riverdale, Md.:
Rome's actions in Europe show that the church wa not merely attempting to spread the word of God. Didn't the Spanish Inquisition occur in the same time period? If the church had been established wouldn't it have been a direct threat to Japan's established structure of power.
Francis Tanabe: The Spanish Inquisition was earlier--began in the 13th century--but it lingered for a long time. Some might say that it lingered in some form until Franco lost power in the 20th century. What is sad about the history of Japan is that at the height of enlightenment in Europe, it closed its doors to the West. Western learning only trickled in through the trading post in Nagasaki and through Chinese merchants. This closed-door policy continued for over two centuries.
Riverdale, Md.:
A common problem with modern religion is that so much of it is based in bigotry. Example - For my religion to be right, yours must be wrong.
Wyatt
Francis Tanabe: I agree entirely. There aren't enough people in search of commonality among religions.
Riverdale, Md.:
The Japanese must have looked upon Christianity as the Romans did. - As a political threat.
Francis Tanabe: Yes.
Lenexa, Kan.:
Thanks for response. Johnston's into showed him at Sophia U.--thought perhaps... Endo died last decade, didn't he?
For all Japan's historic xenophobic tendencies, I've always liked that its own religion was eclectic and syncretic (of course, Christianity isn't easily assimilated). I've always liked novels that present culture clashes of well-meaning missionaries, e.g., Matthiesen's and Kingsolver's "the sorrows of the Price family" in "The Poisonwood Bible." How sympathetic are you to the Christian Century in Japan? I can see both sides and liked Inoue's tale of the quarelling concubines. Thanks.
Francis Tanabe: Endo died in 1996. A lot of people attended his funeral at a Catholic Church in Tokyo. I haven't read Matthiesen's book but I thoroughly enjoyed Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible."
The Christian century in Japan is one of the most fascinating topics, for me. Of course, James Clavell utilized it in his novel, "Shogun." Mariko, in that novel, is modelled after Hosokawa Gracia, a Christian convert. I saw an exhibition in Washington that displayed the riches of the Hosokawa clan. In it was a porcelain with the Hosokawa crest, but with a cross.
Washington, D.C.:
Is Endo representative of contemporary Japanese fiction?
Francis Tanabe: Endo is an anomaly. There are famous writers who are Christians but very few take on the issues related to religion and the challenges of faith in ancient or contemporary society.
Arlington, Va:
Do you really believe that "Muslims imprisoned in Guantanamo" are there because of religious intolerance? I find this assertion is nonsensical. These individuals are not imprisoned for their religious beliefs but for having supported a group that attacked our country. To suggest that they are there for their religious beliefs supports the bin Laden assertion that this is a religious war. I hope, and believe, that it is not.
Francis Tanabe: Ah, I knew there would be a response to that passing comment. We know very little about the people who are imprisoned there. Reporters cannot interview them. I'm sure a majority of them are fanatic suporters of bin Laden but I am equally sure that a few of them are not or have seen the errors of their way. I would be very much interested if the prisoners were allowed to read a novel like "Silence." What would their reactions be?
Lenexa, Kan.:
Re history: There does seem a lot of parallels: Iconoclasm, Crusades (mostly a response to the success of the Seljuk Turks), Inquisitions (both Papal and Spanish). I'm Christian Protestant myself but I understand what J.M. Roberts is saying (in his "Illust. History of the World") when he says that "Christianity has always had great subversive potential." Gibbon certainly thought so.
Francis Tanabe: I'll leave the answer to the scholars among us.
Francis Tanabe: Seems our hour is up. Thank you so much for the lively discussion. The book club's next selection is "The Mercy Rule," a thriller by John Lescroart. Patrick Anderson will be leading the discussion which will be held at noon, Nov. 21. That's a Thursday, a week earlier than our usual time.
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