Reference
As a teacher of World History and AP Human Geography at Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School, I think Silence by Shusaku Endo would be a significant addition to our World History or World Literature courses because it provocatively, but reflectively, addresses the encounter and conflict between two distinct worlds and ideologies while remaining ambivalent on the matter of civilizational “clash.” While Father Ferreria maintains that Japan is a “swamp” since Christianity could not take root, Silence is not merely a tale of East versus West. In the Translators Preface, William Johnston maintains that “Mr. Endo’s thesis is more universal than many of his Japanese readers suspected.” Johnston continues, “For if Hellenistic Christianity does not fit Japan, neither does it (in the opinion of many) suit the modern West; if the notion of God has to be rethought for Japan (as this novel constantly stresses), so has it to be rethought for the modern West” (xvii).
Human Geographers identify both Christianity and Buddhism as universalizing religions because they appeal to people on a global scale and in a diversity of places. However, as Christianity and Buddhism matured throughout history, they began to change and adapt to new times and customs. Students should be challenged to think about religions’ survival through adaptation. Was Japan merely a “swamp” in which Christianity could not take root? Considering Father Rodrigues’ closing line – “my life until this day would have spoken of him” - and the brief Appendix, how do you think Shusaku Endo would answer this question?
The theology of Endo’s Silence is consistent with current Catholic thinking on missionary activity. In Ad Gentes, the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity, the Catholic Church affirmed that it should suffer with “the poor and afflicted” (12). Endo’s Christ acclaims, “It was to share men’s pain that I carried my cross” (171). The contemporary Catholic understanding that missionary activity be informed by social solidarity is a central theme in Endo’s Silence.
In addition to the Translator’s Preface, I recommend that students read about the Age of Exploration and various encounters between Asia and Europe. Chapter 9 of Stewart Gordon’s When Asia Was the World provides the example of Tomé Pires’ failed political mission to China over 100 years before the religious mission of Endo’s Sebastian Rodrigues to Japan.
This book is a fine addition to a World Literature class, especially in a Catholic school looking around the world for distinctly Catholic authors – Endo has been described as "the Japanese Graham Greene." Otherwise, teachers should note that much the book’s content is deeply religious and contains many references to and reflections on Catholic theology and practice. The book also contains frequent and vivid references to various forms of torture, which may unsettle some readers.