One of the late Shusaku Endo’s finest works, The Samurai tells of the journey of some of the first Japanese to set foot on European soil and the resulting clash of cultures and politics.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A historical novel of early contacts between East and West from one of Japan's greatest 20th-century writers.
From Library Journal
In the 17th century, Hasekura and three other low-level samurai are sent to seek trade with Nueva Espa?a (today's Mexico). Accompanied by Father Velasco, a Franciscan missionary and interpreter, they pursue their mission from Nueva Espa?a to Spain. Along the way, they endure not only the hardships of the journey but Velasco's incessant proselytizing. The ambitious priest, who believes that their conversion will gain him the appointment as Bishop of Japan, convinces them that they will succeed only if they convert to Christianity, and reluctantly they agree. Failure, however, is their only reward. After years of wandering, they return to Japan, where they face shame and persecution. Basing his novel on the actual voyage of Hasekura, Endo (Deep River, LJ 2/15/95) masterfully evokes the struggle between the Western individual and the Eastern collective identity and in so doing plumbs the depths of honor, faith, and human endurance. The result is an expansive novel of astonishing power and insight. Strongly recommended for all collections.?Paul Hutchison, Bellefonte, Pa.
Product details
Publisher : New Directions; Reprint edition (April 17, 1997)
Language : English
Paperback : 272 pages
===
Digital Rights
4.0 out of 5 stars Endo always works well for me
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2013
Verified Purchase
"The Samurai" is my third Endo novel. I have enjoyed each. "Silence" is his best known. Published in 1969 it surely must have caught the attention of readers not used to such open literature from a Japan much better known for what a novel doesn't say. "Silence" tellls the story of a Jesuit priest in Japan during the peak of the persecutions. It paints a bleak picture but confronted difficult issues of culture, religion, trust and faith as much as fear and despair. Late in life (1993/94) he wrote "Deep River" which I liked the best. It's a novel largely set on the Ganges where a group of 1970's Japanese tourists have traveled to each for their own reasons.
The Samurai contains many of the same elements as his other works. His characters are both reflective and caught up in world they little understand or have no control over. They are a mix of foreigners, in this case the Franciscan Missionary Velasco and several mid level samurai ordered to accompany him to Mexico in hopes of opening trade routes that bypass Macau and Manila.
The real story is the mixed motivations that drive each character. Endo does well in giving a western reader some sense uniqueness of how trapped a Japanese person must have felt in a futile system that demanded much and gave back very little and yet still there is the universal bonds of family, security and dreams of the future that I appreciate in each of his stories.
The Samurai mission of course will be revealed as subterfuge for a great goal that Velasco who desperately wants to unseat the Jesuits and lead the Missionary work in Japan and Hasekura the Samurai leading the Japanese trade delegation are blind to. Both men are well crafted and very human.
The story is based on accounts of a real Japanese mission to Mexico and Spain in the early 1600's. Endo appreciates that times are changing quickly in Japan at that moment and these shifting sands make for an excellent staging for his story.
Much has been made of Endo as 'the Graham Greene of Japan". It's fair given the dominance of religion and its consequences in their writing but it sells both men short as culture and the awkward clash of culture, religion and "foreigness" is so broad and ripe with stories that ultimately the Christian element is only one part of something more complex and for me quite rewarding.
Read less
8 people found this helpful
-----
Adam
5.0 out of 5 stars A Spiritual and Historical Journey
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2016
Verified Purchase
The Samurai is a beautiful, beautiful novel. Endo is a true artist and a true historian as well. From beginning to end I was captured by this book. The ending left me speechless and in tears. There is no other way to describe it than as an immersive spiritual and historical journey. Endo will take you back in time and will take you back into yourself: your deepest beliefs, doubts, fears, and longings. In the end you will emerge thinking about Christ and the suffering of so many Christians. And that is exactly Endo's intent. He is a master of story-telling. This is just one of his masterpieces.
5 people found this helpful
-----
moderatelymoderate
5.0 out of 5 stars culture shock
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2013
Verified Purchase
Most of the other reviews were excellent, so I just want to add point: that you don't have to be Christian for the book to be worth reading. After all, it was well-received in Japan.
It can be seen as an example of culture shock. The samurai & his fellow Japanese realize how large the world is and how different the people they see are from themselves. They are uncomfortable while experiencing it, yet the samurai misses some of it once he's back home. He recalls that Spaniards smile more than do Japanese. Thus he becomes aware that his own culture isn't perfect.
This is the dilemma of people open to new ideas. Those people who are close-minded often say that the others are unpatriotic, un {fill in name of country here} etc.
2 people found this helpful
----
Sam Hege
5.0 out of 5 stars Could pass for new.
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2022
Verified Purchase
They listed book as acceptable. Looks like new to me. Very pleased.
Helpful
Report abuse
Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and Engaging
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2017
Verified Purchase
Very interesting historical fiction piece. Not as emotionally powerful as Silence by Endo, but still powerful and engaging. The author explores both the contrast of Japanese and western culture as well as the failure of Christianity to take root in Japan while it did on nearby islands. I would note the book is not overtly religious if you choose to not to read it that way. If you are reading it for the religious aspect, the book will force you to be reflective.
One person found this helpful
----
TofuGirlSF
5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected in every way, and a seamless combination of ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2015
Verified Purchase
Unexpected in every way, and a seamless combination of suspenseful historical fiction with exploring deep questions about faith, fate and the (possible) presence of God.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
Report abuse
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Arrived sooner than expected
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2018
Verified Purchase
Although the book was not the edition shown in the posted picture, it was an edition I can appreciate even more. The condition, as advertized, was very good. Extremely happy with my purchase
Helpful
Report abuse
GABRIELA PEREZ
4.0 out of 5 stars Retrasado pero ya llegó!
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2019
Verified Purchase
Ya llegó el pedido!
Helpful
Report abuse
Translate review to English
See all reviews
Top reviews from other countries
Monica
5.0 out of 5 stars A very thought-provoking read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2018
Verified Purchase
Based on a true story of a monk missionary and 3 low-ranking samurai sent from Japan to try to open trade with Spain. As with "Old Filth" by Jane Gardam (failed in London try Hong Kong) and even "The Morville Hours" by Katherine Swift, one is shown only the surface of things; the reader is left to think about and feel what is going on underneath. An absorbing look into the history of Japan and its people. Quite slow moving, I suppose. Sad, of course. One feels desperately (in the true sense of the word) for "The Samurai" himself, trying to do his duty which sometimes is in conflict with what he feels to be "right".
2 people found this helpful
Report abuse
JKirrane
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
What a terrific read. I have read Silence and that got me interested in the author. I enjoyed Samurai even more. It is beautifully written, with very strong, developed characters. It is a fascinating and heartbreaking story which explores all aspects human ambitious, desires, loyalty, honour and faith. Highly recommended.
5 people found this helpful
Report abuse
Paul Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars The story of an odyssey - both external and internal
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 4, 2015
Verified Purchase
I have read four novels by Endo, and in my opinion, this is by far the best (it was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature and did win Japan's highest literary award). It gradually exposes the differences between western and eastern psychology and faith, and is a gripping read. The notes say that the novel parallels to some extent Endo's own spiritual journey. I have read it twice. Superb (but no martial arts!)
8 people found this helpful
Report abuse
M. J. C. Ward
5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificent. Woukd profitably be read alongside the earlier and ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2016
Verified Purchase
Magnificent. Woukd profitably be read alongside the earlier and more well known 'Silence' for a fuller account of the persecutions of the early Sixteenth Century. The latter is - by comparison with this - claustrophobic and intense. 'The Samurai' is painted on a vast canvas but still dwells close to its protagonists' hearts. Truthful and profound.
4 people found this helpful
Report abuse
adrian
5.0 out of 5 stars well worth reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
a most enjoyable exploration of japan's attitude to christianity in the tokugawa period
One person found this helpful
Report abuse
====
Apr 06, 2015booklady rated it it was amazing
Shelves: adventure, classic, biography, favorites, fiction, historical-fiction, history, 2015, hagiography
The Samurai is even better that Endo’s better known work, Silence. As much as I was moved by that novel about Spanish and Japanese martyrs, it was hard to imagine another book which could be so good.
The Samurai starts off very slow and the characters seem one-dimensional. The samurai of the book’s title is a simple peasant farmer. He and his companions hardly know why they’ve been chosen for this expedition and yet they also know better than to argue. The Catholic priest assigned as interpreter for the voyage is ambitious, zealous, and officious. No good seems possible from such a hopeless undertaking; certainly not the varied objectives sought by all those who set off for Mexico. The journey takes on a life of its own and one by one the men have to surrender some cherished ideal in order to continue.
Shusaku Endo likes to portray the complexity of Life, human personalities, the clash of cultures, Time and beliefs especially during the early years of Christian missionary efforts to his own beloved Japan. He wants to challenge our comfortable beliefs. His writing is stunning and beautiful in its very understated simplicity.
Like Silence, The Samurai is a fictionalized account of a real story. Highly recommended. (less)
flag55 likes · Like · see review
Henk
Feb 11, 2021Henk rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: owned, japanese-literature
A surprisingly unrelenting and calm tale of the individual versus an unjust and uncaring world full of scheming and hunger for power
Maybe we saw things... which we better could not have seen.
Slow and grinding, and very dark and grim at the end. Unremarkable in prose but hard hitting in message and the Endo’s portrayal of the Christian prosecution in feudal Japan.
We alternating follow Velasco the ambitious priest who thinks he will fix Japan under a Christian banner and the titular The Samurai.
Velasco is a bit like Simba in the Lion King, constantly thinking “if I were bishop of Japan” instead of “if I were king”.
There are religious orders fighting with each other but meanwhile Japan itself is changing.
The other protagonist is Hasekura Rokueomon, the dirt poor swamp samurai who longs to regain his lost family lands. He is send along with Velasco and a few other emissaries to Nueva Espana. Due to all kind of political intrigues the quest however does not end at Mexico City but even Madrid and Rome itself is visited. More important than the physical travel is however the spiritual one especially Velasco goes on. He, in a way similar to the main character of Silence, starts to doubt both his own intentions but also the church as an institution.
I'm not sure if someone from the 17th century would really be so upset with the church being a political and scheming entity. I feel the struggle between idealism/literal Bible interpretation and the world as is in all its pragmatism would much more be a theme for a modern person than for a samurai or priest from this day and age. I could be wrong off course, I mean, martyrdom was a thing and if that was not an expression of faith versus pragmatism I don’t know what is.
Meanwhile the relation the samurai has with his ancestors and their religion is interesting.
Shūsaku Endō repeats parts of sentences and phrases in this book, making the book feel longer than it is and sometimes rather plodding. Maybe this is intentional, with the world in the book changing and hence retrospectively making the efforts of the characters mute and void.
I was curious why Nishi wasn't the main Japanese character? He, as a curious young and outgoing person, seems to me to have been a much more interesting choice than the samurai.
In general there are a lot of generalizations on the Japanese spirit and people, mainly voiced by Velasco, which kind of annoyed me and made me feel distant from the Japanese characters while as reader you get quite a lot of the interior of the priest. There are also a lot of rather heavy handed parallels being drawn between Japan of the 1700's and the hostile world were Jezus preached.
In the end I felt the book redeemed itself with its unflinching account of an almost Soviet style erasure of the past , but certainly not my favourite work of Endo; I enjoyed both The Girl I Left Behind and Silence more. (less)
flag34 likes · Like · comment · see review
Inderjit Sanghera
Apr 08, 2018Inderjit Sanghera rated it it was amazing
Endo’s prose and imagery resembles the technical perfection of Japanese lacquer-ware; polished and graceful, ‘The Sumarai’ charts the story of Father Velasco, a nuanced and complex character whose drive to proselytise Japan, driven as much by egomania as by piousness, leads to him becoming entrapped in a web of political machinations.
The story is told via the perspective of two narrators; father Velasco and the Japanese Samurai Hasekura. Hasekura’s narrative often concentrates on his surroundings, whether it is the verdant and vibrant Japanese countryside or the stifling and discombobulating Mexico heat, or the slow falling snow over a dusk-riddled river-bed, Hasekura’s narrative often concentrates on the wonders of the world around him;
“Winter landscapes had greeted the samurai here before, but now flowers bloomed in profusion, and in fields peasants lazily prodded their oxen. The following day, they saw the sea in the distance. A warm spring sun was shining on the waves, and the clouds floating in the sky were as soft as cotton.”
The samurai’s narration is suffused with sadness. There is an air of melancholy to his feeling of displacement, both in agreeing to the mission in order to regain his familial lands and in his journeys to Mexico, Spain and Italy. Taken from the Japanese marshlands Hasekura feels the weight of the world on his shoulders, whether it be the endless ocean, the acrid heat of the Mexican desert or the ebullience of Christianity, Hasekura feels deeply alienated from the world he explores, he is constantly haunted by the images of swans who occupy the marshlands of his birth, who represent a kind of loss of innocence but spiritual awakening which Hasekura undergoes during the novel.
Hasekura stands in stark contract to Father Velasco. A naturally gregarious man who seeks to explore the world, his narration is dominated by a sense of foreboding and narcissism; Father Velasco is driven by a sense of his own greatness, his muscular Christianity is dominated by his desire for renown; Bishop of Japan and saviour of heathens, he sees himself as an apostle reborn. Yet, mixed with this is genuine Christian humility and, at times generosity. Contradictions abound in Father Velasco’s character; one the one hand he is contemptuous of the Japanese yet on the other he feels a deep affinity for both the land and the people. In many ways Velasco is symbolic of the mindset of many colonialists; they dress up their desire to dominate as altruism and seek to displace the very culture which they, often subconsciously, are drawn to.
Indeed the clash of cultures is one of the central themes of ‘The Samurai’. The reticent and insular nature of Japanese society means the the overly-exuberant nature of European Christianity would never be an easy fit. Endo is able to skilfully render the feelings and emotions of the Japanese emissaries and merchants who accompany Father Velasco, who increasingly feeling engulfed within a world which has no place for their introversion and mannerisms and who are gradually guided into disaster by a priest whose egoism blinds him to the futility of his own mission. (less)
flag25 likes · Like · 1 comment · see review
withdrawn
Mar 19, 2018withdrawn rated it liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: fiction, japanese
The Samurai is basically ‘good’. I should note though that I was somewhat disappointed by the style and the writing.
This is a story of two men, one a low status samurai and the other a Spanish Franciscan missionary who has dedicated his life to christianising Japan. The story is both a struggle between the two and their cultures and a coming together of their points of view to some degree.
What disappointed me was the fact that, although written by Japanese writer, the writing felt very Western. It showed none of the slow development, attention to physical detail, nor focus on family that all attract me to Japanese writers. Some of this may be attributed to the translation but I would argue that Shūsaku Endō has very much mastered a Western writing style, so much so that, for me, he does not create those sensations that I turn to Japanese literature for - that ‘palate cleansing’ that my Friend Marita describes. (less)
flag21 likes · Like · see review
Tsung
Jan 07, 2019Tsung rated it it was amazing
This is a marvelous work of historical fiction. I was interested to learn about the lead up to the Edo period of Japan. This was a time of three of Japan’s most important leaders, Nobunaga, Toyotomi and Tokugawa, who were responsible for unifying Japan. This was also when Japan shut out foreign influences and extirpated all the vestiges of Christianity. This was a time of Shoguns, daimyos and samurais. It was an interesting introduction to Japanese history, culture and religion. But the story is more than that.
Four low ranking samurai are chosen as envoys for an important mission to forge ties with the Spanish. It was a risky gambit, to invite proselytizing missionaries to come to Japan at a time when Christians were being persecuted. This was in exchange for a chance to establish trade with the technologically more advanced Spanish. So these four pawns embarked on a perilous journey, more than halfway across the world. They saw sights and met people which no other Japanese had met before. Not only were they pushed to their physical limits, but they were forced to compromise on their honour, beliefs, even their very souls.
(view spoiler)
It is a moving story of courage, sacrifice and tragedy.
(less)
flag14 likes · Like · 8 comments · see review
Jim Zhu
Nov 06, 2012Jim Zhu rated it did not like it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It's about these samurais,
and their other guys.
There was also this priest,
who's not important, not in the least.
Okay I kinda lied,
cause for this priest some guys died.
They were on an awesome mission to Spain,
but they failed, it all went down the drain.
They even became Christian for the mission,
but none of the samurai did it of their own volition.
Back in Japan they be persecutin,
and all the Christians were in hidin.
The priest guy didn't go back,
cause Japan was all whack.
The samurai totally feared ...more
flag12 likes · Like · 4 comments · see review
Max Berendsen
Sep 11, 2021Max Berendsen rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Review to follow
flag11 likes · Like · 2 comments · see review
Adrienne
Mar 31, 2009Adrienne rated it really liked it
Shelves: book-count-08, own-it, multicultural
In The Samurai, Endo tells his story from the point of view of two different characters: Father Velasco, a Spanish Franciscan missionary, and Hasekura, a minor Japanese warrior, who is generally referred to in the text as “The Samurai.” Father Velasco is attempting to spread Christianity in Japan in the 17th century. He convinces the local shogun to send a delegation of Japanese to Nueva Espana (Mexico) for the stated purpose of opening up trade relations, but also to give Velasco more authority in the Catholic church, which will (he thinks) make it easier for him to convert the Japanese people. Hasekura is one of the warriors chosen to go on this long journey that ends up taking the party all the way to Rome.
Endo does a fantastic job of realistically showing the Western point of view through Father Velasco, and of also showing the Eastern/Japanese point of view through the samurai. Both characters are very real, and both are compelling. While I didn’t like Father Velasco much at the beginning, he got much better by the end. Hasekura is a sympathetic character throughout the book - trapped between powers much greater than he is, he must continually bend to their will. Through it all, he remains patient, though not very happy or content (but I wouldn’t be either).
This is not the first book by Endo that I have read, but it is the one that I like best. Endo is worth reading, and The Samurai is definitely an interesting read. (less)
flag10 likes · Like · comment · see review
Daniel Warriner
Feb 12, 2021Daniel Warriner rated it really liked it
Shusaku Endo’s The Samurai (1980) is a fictional account of a 17th-century diplomatic mission from Japan to “Nueva España,” or present-day Mexico, and then beyond to Spain and Rome. There’s a lot to this novel as it shifts between first- and third-person narrative, and from historical adventure to travel narrative, political drama and meditation on certain interpretations of faith and Christ.
It came as a surprise to me that Endo based the characters on actual historical figures. As Van C. Gessel, the book’s translator, points out in the postscript, “Endō’s novel, besides being a superbly crafted piece of fiction, is a valuable work of speculation.” A group of about one hundred Japanese, along with Spanish sailors, really did travel to what is now Central America and then crossed the Atlantic and met with Pope Paul V. But almost no documents about their journey exist today.
For Endo, this skeleton must’ve compelled him to provide the right flesh and blood. Through his prose it's clear he spent considerable time working out each detail and contemplating the intentions and motivations of the characters and countries in play. The story also explores missionary work as a precondition for international trade (for Catholics, not Protestants), the rivalry and animosity between Franciscans and Jesuits, the hardships of sea travel, and methods of torture and killing used in Japan to humiliate and terrify Christians. The novel is also interesting for its depiction of Luis Sotelo (the Franciscan friar on which one character is based) and Christianity in the Tohoku region.
(less)
flag8 likes · Like · comment · see review
Viv JM
Jul 09, 2017Viv JM marked it as dnf · review of another edition
DNF @ 56%. I decided to DNF this when I noticed that I wasn't looking forward to carrying on at all but was just forcing myself to because I'd chosen it for a challenge book. I think I need a break from reading challenges while my life is challenging!
This feels very similar to Silence (which I read last year) but without the same emotional energy I felt with that book. (less)
flag8 likes · Like · comment · see review
Teresa
Aug 14, 2013Teresa rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: classics, asian-lit, historical-fiction
Excellent HF book based on a true story: the voyage of four Japanese envoys in the early XVIIth century to Nueva España, Spain and Rome, and from there all the way back to their homeland. The story is told from two PoV: Rokuemon Hasekura, a samurai whose family eagerly want to have their lands back (were taken because they fought for the wrong side during a war), is probably the 'stereotype' we have in mind when thinking about a samurai (except there's no martial arts involved, or flying and none of this Hollywood bullshit): someone loyal, obedient, and that wants to maintain his family's and ancestor's honour, as well as his own. He's the one to describe how someone who has never been outside his master's lands feels when visiting two different continents and culture, and their face to face with Christianity. There are three other envoys, who are also samurai, with their own personnality, which I really enjoyed reading.
The other side of the coin is Father Velasco, a Spanish Franciscan missionnary who has convinced himself that God wants him to prozelitise Japan, no matter the cost. That's why, when a Japanese Lord starts to be interested in trading with Mexico, he soonly realises it is now or never if he wants to fulfill his ambition: become the bishop of Japan. Indeed, he knows that little trade would be possible between Japan and Spain as long as Christians are banned or severely punished in Japan. Therefore, he uses the Japanese cravings for knowledge and profit to make them agree to send emmissaries to the Western World, and him with them. But are the Japanese earnest?
Overall, their trip takes them more than seven years, and many things could've changed.
It is a great book. First, because it's a very interesting topic and the descriptions of both the Western and Japanese world seem very accurate. Second, the characters and the plot are fantastic. Except for the samurai, who are bound in their ignorance, everyone has an ulterior motive, an ambition, and nothing is what it seems. The idea I got from the book is the difference between 'normal' people and the 'government', the 'great interests', in a word, the world of politics (which may be at a state-level or for the ruling of the Church). The hypocrisy, the selfishness, and the ever-moving tides of power who are never reluctant to swallow a few middle-men who never had a chance to survive in this game.
Again, great great book. Well-written. Read it!
P.S. Although the author was Catholic and there's a lot of discussion on the nature of Christianity (which is very interesting btw), it is not proselytizing. It's not a book about how cool Christianity is, it is not a book about redemption or how samurai convert into Catholicism because Western values are so much better. It's nothing of the sort. I thought the author's/characters' thoughts on religion, on the image of the Christ, and why some people believe, were very meaningful, very interesting, but in no way imposing themselves. (less)
flag7 likes · Like · 1 comment · see review
Jeff Diamond
Oct 07, 2010Jeff Diamond rated it it was amazing
Recommends it for: everybody
Recommended to Jeff Diamond by: Van C. Gessel
Shelves: historical-fiction, from-japan
If you have never read anything by Endo Shusaku, stop reading this and go get one right now. Seriously. At this point, if you are still reading, I assume you are either familiar with Endo or you are just bad at following directions. Either way, here we go.
Japanese novels are very different from American novels. In America, we tend to like an ending where the bad guy dies, the main character gets the hot girl, they have lots of kids and die happy at the age 109. In Japan, books tend to be more realistic. In The Samurai, Endo takes people and situations that actually did happen and adds kind of a speculative side to it. The book's main premise is that Date Masamune sends out a bunch of people to Nueva Espana (Mexico) in order to try to open trade with them. I am assume that people reading this have little knowledge of Japanese history, but there is not room to describe everything here. Suffice it to say that at this point in history, anti-Christian sentiment in Japan was increasing. The story revolves around the difficulties that the group has being a non-Christian nation trying to trade with Christian nations.
Endo Shusaku is a great storyteller, and while he is telling this particular story, you really begin to hurt while these characters are hurting. Being happy when they are happy. Even if you know what is going on in Japan at this time, you have a little more context into which to put the book, but even if you don't, this is an excellent read.
As far as the translation is concerned, Van Gessel is one of the best. I'm not saying that just because he's my professor for modern Japanese literature. It's really true. Japanese is a hard language to translate mainly because there is so much left to context and a lot more left unsaid because a Japanese reader understands allusion at a deeper level than Westerners do. But Gessel takes that text and makes it into something that is easy and enjoyable for a Westerner to read without feeling completely lost. At the same time he does this, he is able to be invisible enough so that you can really feel Endo's individual voice and style. This is especially important with Endo because he feels so strongly about the subjects that he writes about. Because Gessel is invisible in this sense, we can really be moved by the power of what Endo Shusaku is saying. (less)
flag7 likes · Like · comment · see review
Nick
Jun 18, 2013Nick rated it really liked it
Shusako Endo was a member of a religious minority in Japan, leaning neither to Buddhism nor Shintoism nor to an effort to meld them. He was a Catholic who spent part of his early childhood in Japanese-occupied Manchuria before World War II. In "The Samurai" Endo took up a story from early seventeenth century, when a low-ranking vassal--the translator calls him a lance-corporal--was sent in the company of a Franciscan to New Spain to open trade and wound up traveling as far as Rome. (Those looking for the mythical wandering swordsmen will be disappointed--Endo's Rokuemon Hasekura is if anything tied too closely to his marshland home, and his isolation from power makes him a useful tool, not a wily rebel). Hasekura and his comrades--Endo gives him three other lance-corporals, each with attendants, and merchants as well--are given little information about what they are supposed to accomplish, and their efforts to carry out the will of the court are tragic, as is the ambition of the Franciscan who leads them, mostly astray. Cut off from Japan, they have no way of learning that the court faction that supported them is being defeated by a very religious Buddhist who views Christianity as a threat to Japan. In the background lurks the mercantile competition between Spain and the growing Protestant powers of Northern Europe; loser to the narrative is the struggle between Catholic orders, pitting the Jesuits, who see their labors in Japan ending badly, and the Franciscans, who have shown up at just the wrong time to dispute missionary territory. All this sounds like an intensely political work, but, aside from the great attention to character and period detail, this novel is more of a meditation on duty, faith and loss. One strand follows the journal of the priest--who seeks to become the Bishop of Japan without comprehending that even the office will not be created--a brilliant man trapped by his own machinations and sin of pride (although he is made somewhat more sympathetic by a worldly Vatican). The journal alternates with the moving third-person narrative from Hasekura, the bit player entrusted with a staggering duty the real meaning of which is hidden from him, and his efforts to understand the huge and strange new world he never sought out and the loss of the homeland and family to which he is devoted. (less)
No comments:
Post a Comment