Silence

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He may not be embraced by fellow Christians—Catholics, in particular. [10] Some of his characters (many of whom are allegories) may reference non-Western religions. [10] While not the main focus of his works, a few of Endō's books mention Kakure Kirishitans (hidden Christians). [14] Endō preferred to use the term "かくれ切支丹" instead of the more common "かくれキリシタン". [15] Silence is, on the surface, a historical novel dealing with 17th-century persecution of Christians in Japan. But it is probably more accurate, as well as more interesting, to take the work as the spiritual autobiography of the author, Shusaku Endo, himself a Japanese Catholic. Endo puts his intellectual misgivings about Christianity into the mouth of the foreign priest, while the sniveling Japanese informer, Kichijiro, Consider Silence a tour of 1600s Japan. We encounter hordes of Japanese Christians more devoted to Christianity than Ron Swanson is to bacon. We meet powerful samurai who can sentence entire villages to death without breaking a sweat. We even meet a former priest or two: men whose rejection of Christianity shakes Rodrigues to his core. And in the midst of this, the poor priest is left scratching his head as to what it all means. Patterson, John (January 2, 2017). "Silence: Scorsese's new film is not worth making a noise about". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017 . Retrieved March 21, 2017.

Several reviewers such as Justin Chang and Mark Kermode emphasized Scorsese's collaboration with his production crew and with his actors as contributing to the film's quality. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Justin Chang called the film an "anguished masterwork" for Scorsese, stating: "Working with such sterling past collaborators as editor Thelma Schoonmaker, production designer Dante Ferretti and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, Scorsese has done more than resurrect a vision of feudal Japan... Silencefeels less like a feat of adaptation than an act of artistic submission". [78] Mark Kermode writing for The Guardian indicated exemplary performances by the range of Japanese supporting actors in the cast, stating: "The real stars however, are the Japanese cast, from Yōsuke Kubozuka's enigmatic wretch, Kichijirō... to Yoshi Oida's devout elder Ichizo, to whose village these priests bring both salvation and suffering. As a smiling, silver-tongued interpreter, Tadanobu Asano is a superb foil to the inquisitor, Inoue, played with fly-swatting menace by a wheedling Issey Ogata". [79] Francis Mathy, SJ, of Sophia University, (1974), "Introduction", Endo Shusaku, Wonderful Fool ( Obaka San), Tokyo: Tuttle, p. 6, ISBN 9780068598534. Wilkinson, Alissa (January 14, 2017). "Silence is beautiful, unsettling and one of the finest religious movies ever made". Vox. Archived from the original on February 8, 2017 . Retrieved March 21, 2017. While Endō wrote in several genres, [10] his oeuvre is strongly tied to Christianity if not Catholicism. Endō has been called "a novelist whose work has been dominated by a single theme... belief in Christianity". [4] Others have said that he is "almost by default... [labeled] a 'Japanese Catholic author' struggling to 'plant the seeds of his adopted religion' in the 'mudswamp' of Japan". [1] He often likened Japan to a swamp or fen. [11] [12] In the novel Silence, an official tells a priest who has apostatized, "Father, it was not by us that you were defeated, but by this mudswamp, Japan." In Endō's stage version of this story, The Golden Country, this official also says: "But the mudswamp too has its good points, if you will but give yourself up to its comfortable warmth. The teachings of Christ are like a flame. Like a flame they set a man on fire. But the tepid warmth of Japan will eventually nurture sleep." [13] Thus, many of Endō's characters are allegories. [10]

Summary of Silence

a b "Day-Lewis in talks for Scorsese's 'Silence' ". Digital Spy. February 2, 2009. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014 . Retrieved March 2, 2014. Andrew Garfield played a Jesuit in Silence, but he didn't expect to fall in love with Jesus". America Magazine. January 10, 2017. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020 . Retrieved November 28, 2020. Béla Baptiste as Dieter Albrecht (based on Engelbert Kaempfer, a chronicler who traveled with the Dutch East India Company) [23]

Martin Scorsese has apparently been fighting to make the film adaption of Silence for over two decades, and his dream is finally coming true. ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS Sachiko) (1982): A novel set in Nagasaki during the years between 1930 and 1945 about two young people trying to find love and dealing with their Catholic faith in a period where Japanese Christians were accused of treason disloyalty to their country and Emperor. Throughout his life bouts of disease plagued him, and he spent two years in hospital at one point. [8] In 1952, while studying in France, he came down with pleurisy in Paris. [3] A return visit in 1960 prompted another case of the same disease, and he stayed in hospital (in France and Japan) for the greater part of three years. [6] Among other health problems, he contracted tuberculosis, [9] underwent thoracoplasty, [9] and had a lung removed. [8]The 11 stories in Endo's collection Stained Glass Elegies (1984) further explore the conundrum of Catholic faith, as the author presents us with a series of characters whose beliefs are fading and who cling precariously to inherited practices which can be easily stripped from them. Endo's "moral weaklings" continually restage the problematic encounter between Japanese and western understandings of self and God, an encounter which, as Endo's work develops, comes to be increasingly characterised by an ongoing interrogation of the word "betrayal". This news report documents a meeting between Pope Francis and leaders of the Japanese Catholic Church, touching on some of the history depicted in Silence.

This article provides some great insight into the real-life history of Japanese Christianity, as well as the modern Japanese Christian community's relationship with the Catholic Church. Cataldo, Jesse (December 15, 2016). "Silence". Slant. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017 . Retrieved February 12, 2017. Rodrigues continually laments the affliction of the Japanese Christians to God. But at various moments in Endo’s book, Rodrigues closes his eyes and feels “the face of Christ looking intently at him. The clear blue eyes were gentle with compassion; the features were tranquil; it was a face filled with trust” (106). However, only three times in the narrative does Rodrigues receive the impression of Christ’s voice in his thoughts, never audibly, and never when he aches most for God to speak. Wonderful Fool) (1959): [3] A story about a kind, innocent, and naïve Frenchman visiting post-war Tokyo. Gaston Bonaparte is a Christ-like figure who comes to live with a Japanese family. He befriends a variety of "undesirables" including stray dogs, prostitutes, and a killer. In spite of this unusual behavior he changes everyone he meets for the better.Martin Scorsese's Silence To Film in Taiwan This Summer". CinemaBlend.com. February 11, 2014. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014 . Retrieved March 2, 2014. Dave McNary (January 19, 2017). "Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' Adds Hundreds of Theaters Ahead of Oscar Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017 . Retrieved January 21, 2017. Today there is an Endo Museum in Nagasaki, the Japanese city that has the most profound connections with the west. Here one can discover Endo's papers, manuscripts, letters, books, pens, even his clothes, all housed in a building that faces west. In Japan Shusaku Endo is remembered as a deeply-respected author who wished to bring about a coming together of Japanese manners with European ideas, but he has his critics. Soon after the opening of the museum in 1999, a memorial plate that had been established to commemorate the novel Silence was defaced with paint by Japanese Catholics who objected to the fact that Rodrigues chose to step willingly on the image of Christ. This brief documentary describes the traditions and culture of the Japanese Christian community. AUDIO The Final Martyrs: A series of eleven short stories published in Japan between 1959 and 1985. Translated into English in 2008.

a b "Martin Scorsese to Make Noise on 'Silence' at Cannes; Emmett/Furla Funding The Film". Deadline Hollywood. April 19, 2013. Archived from the original on February 19, 2016 . Retrieved January 16, 2016. Despite having apostatized, Rodrigues is forced by shogunate officials to prove that he is not practicing his former religion in secret. Kichijirō is arrested after being caught with a Christian amulet and Rodrigues never sees him again. The former priest lives out the remainder of his life in Japan. After his death, he is given a traditional Japanese funeral. His wife is allowed to place an offering in his hand to ward off evil spirits - she places the tiny crudely made crucifix that was given to him when he first came to Tomogi, indicating that in his heart, Rodrigues remained a Christian all his life. Together with Junnosuke Yoshiyuki, Shōtarō Yasuoka, Junzo Shono, Hiroyuki Agawa, Ayako Sono (also Catholic), and Shumon Miura, Endō is categorized as part of the " Third Generation" (that is, the third major group of Japanese writers to appear after World War II). Travers, Peter (December 19, 2016). "Peter Travers: 'Silence' Movie Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017 . Retrieved February 12, 2017.

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Rosenberg, Alyssa (January 5, 2017). "Watching 'Silence' will make you feel terrible. It should". Washington Post. Ryūgaku ( 留学, "Foreign Studies") (1965) [6] Three linked narratives chart the gulf between East and West. Evoking Paris in the 1960s, 17th century Rome, and provincial France in the post-World War II years, Endō acutely conveys the alienation felt by three Japanese students when confronted by the spiritual values and culture of Europe. Tom Brueggemann (January 15, 2017). "Arthouse Audit: Audiences Skip Martin Scorsese's 'Silence' ". IndieWire. Archived from the original on January 17, 2017 . Retrieved January 21, 2017.