11/20/2023 0 Comments Shusaku endo silence cultureThrough the other envoys we see different personalities within this placement and hierarchy but each still held to the honour and formality required within their society.Īlong with the samurai’s story, we follow Velasco’s perspective too, a man of deep passion, willing to sacrifice himself and others in his pursuit of his ambitions. He is trapped by his place in the rigid hierarchy of Japanese culture. His honour and his family are of paramount importance, his own desires secondary to those who command him. The samurai is a deeply stoic, loyal man. But where Endo really soars, as in Silence, is in the characterization. It’s a fascinating look at a world in a time when travel was dangerous and long, taking years to get from one country to another. The novel takes us through Nueva Espana, through deserts and cathedrals, to Espana itself and on to Rome and the Vatican City. He is included in the voyage as a translator but his own ambitions run deep. Although Christians are being increasingly persecuted in Japan and Christianity is outlawed in many regions, Velasco’s power lies in the fact that he is one of the few people in the world who speaks both Japanese and Spanish. The other perspective we follow is that of Velasco, a Spanish priest who has served in Japan for many years. But the motives of those in power are broad and secretive and are the envoys merely pawns being used in a complex game? In the hopes that his ancestral lands will be returned to his family, he is sent on a voyage with three other envoys across the world in an attempt to open shipping channels with Spain. The Samurai of the title is a low ranking lance-corporal who is chosen as a member of an envoy to be sent to Nueva Espana. Which isn’t to say it’s a boring book or one without much happening it’s simply a deeply thoughtful book. Like Endo’s other famous book, Silence, this is a slow moving and contemplative book, dealing with Christianity in 17th century Japan. The Samurai – Shusaku Endo (New Directions, 2018) (translated from the Japanese by Van C.
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