To say that Rodrigues and Garrpe’s faith is challenged in Silence would be an understatement: they’re subjected to an almost malicious amount of cruelty and self-inflicted mental anguish. Martin Scorsese’s foreword, new to this edition, provides a casual new voice but he focuses more on his motivations for adapting Silence into his forthcoming film and less on providing any new textual insight. Johnston’s text is an asset and will grant readers a grasp of the historical horrors of this era of Japan, but although it is an essential read it does feel a little strange that over forty-five years have passed without another scholarly take.
It is important to mention that this edition of Silence is a re-release of the original 1969 translation by William Johnston, complete with his excellent and contextualizing introduction. But not even the Book of Job could prepare them for the challenges, both of body and spirit, that lay ahead. Fathers Rodrigues and Garrpe arrive in Japan (by way of Macao) after hearing word that a previous missionary and former mentor, Father Ferreira, had apostatized (renounced his faith). The shogunate was violently opposed to this sort of proselytism: Christianity was outlawed in the country and the slightest sign of piety was punishable by imprisonment, torture and death. Set in Japan in the mid-17th century, Silence tells the story of two Portuguese missionaries as they attempt to plant the “sapling” of Christianity among the Japanese.
Originally written in 1966, Shusaku Endo’s Silence is a timeless classic of faith and the challenges of remaining true to oneself amidst hardship.
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