![]() His parents divorced when he was 10, and he went to live with an aunt in Kobe who had converted to Catholicism (his mother would also later convert). ![]() Shusaku Endo was born in Tokyo in 1923 and spent his early years in Manchuria. When America honored Endo with the Campion Award in 1990, given out periodically since 1955 to “a noted Christian person of letters,” the editors were careful to avoid the normal labels attached to Endo outside his home country, noting instead that “his Roman Catholic heritage has charged his artistic sensibilities with a vision and power rarely seen in contemporary writers of whatever nationality.” How can a rejection of God lead to love of God? Anyone who has read Shusaku Endo’s novel Silence (or seen Martin Scorsese’s 2016 film adaptation) might recognize the sentiment expressed in the quote, however-and with good reason: They are Endo’s own words, spoken to William Johnston, S.J., in a 1994 conversation published in America.Īmerica's editors in 1990: Shusaku Endo's "Roman Catholic heritage has charged his artistic sensibilities with a vision and power rarely seen in contemporary writers of whatever nationality.”Įndo, described on occasion as “the Japanese Graham Greene,” is also routinely called the greatest Japanese Catholic novelist, an appellation of which he did not approve, because of his many novels with deeply Catholic themes-all set in a culture which he himself described as deeply alien to Christianity in most respects. These words might seem counterintuitive to many believers, even blasphemous. When one can say to God, ‘I hate you,’ it is like saying, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ With these words authentic prayer begins.” Before his death in 1996, Endo was the recipient of a number of outstanding Japanese literary awards: the Akutagawa Prize, Mainichi Cultural Prize, Shincho Prize, and Tanizaki Prize.“Hatred can always change to love. A major theme running through his books, which have been translated into many languages, including English, French, Russian and Swedish, is the failure of Japanese soil to nurture the growth of Christianity. At Tokyo's Keio University he majored in French literature, graduating BA in 1949, before furthering his studies in French Catholic literature at the University of Lyon in France between 19. (from t Shusaku Endo ( 遠藤周作), born in Tokyo in 1923, was raised by his mother and an aunt in Kobe where he converted to Roman Catholicism at the age of eleven. Before his death in 1996, Endo was the recipient of a number of outstanding Japanese literary awards: the Akutagawa Prize, Mainichi Cultural Prize, Shincho Prize, and Tanizaki Prize. ![]() Shusaku Endo ( 遠藤周作), born in Tokyo in 1923, was raised by his mother and an aunt in Kobe where he converted to Roman Catholicism at the age of eleven.
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