Rodrigues knows of several priests who have apostatized following being suspended in "the pit" and figures that it is only a matter of time before he too is subjected to severe torture. Nagasaki is the traditional seat of the magistrate, Inoue, who is responsible for the interrogation and torture of all captured Christians. Rodrigues is shifted between various holding huts before landing in a prison cell outside of Nagasaki, Japan. Kichijiro promises to take Rodrigues to another safe village but after several days of walking the priest is captured by officials. As he struggles across the mountains he encounters Kichijiro, who has been trailing the priest for some time. Rodrigues sails across the sea but fails to find another village to hide in. Garrpe and Rodrigues decide that it would be best for everyone if they separate and leave the village. One day, officials come to the village looking for hidden Christian items. The priests have little contact with other villages and learn nothing about the fate of Ferreira. Their contact, Kichijiro, locates a group of Christian peasants willing to hide the priests in a charcoal hut just outside their village. Santa Marta is deemed too ill to travel, and so only Rodrigues and Garrpe arrive in Tomogi, Japan. After much discussion the priests obtain Valignano's permission to secure a Chinese ship and continue on to Japan. Valignano, the administrator for the Society of Jesus working in Macao, forbids the priests from continuing their journey. However, once the three priests land in China, they are informed that all Portuguese ships from Macao to Japan have been prohibited. Rodrigues, Francisco Garrpe, and Juan de Santa Marta gain permission from their Superiors in Portugal to make the journey from Lisbon to Macao.
Ferreira has been working in Japan for over thirty years but correspondence from the priest abruptly ceased, and only a few tales of how Ferreira apostatized following several torturous days suspended in the pit tell what happened. They hope togain entrance into Japan in order to locate their former teacher, Christovao Ferreira. Rodrigues and two of his friends journey to Macao, China. More specifically, Endo traces the life of Sebastian Rodrigues, a Portuguese missionary from the Society of Jesus, as he tries to survive as a Christian priest working in Japan. "A masterpiece, a lucid and elegant drama." - The New York Review of Books.Silence is the story of the Japanese persecution of Christians that occurred in the 1600s. is a great achievement, and I love the book." - David Mitchell, author. Shusaku Endo is one of the most celebrated and well-known Japanese fiction writers of the twentieth century, and Silence is widely considered to be his great masterpiece." - from the rear outer cover. Eventually captured and forced to watch their Japanese Christian brothers lay down their lives for their faith, the priests bear witness to unimaginable cruelties that test their own beliefs. Seventeenth-century Japan: Two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to a country hostile to their religion, where feudal lords force the faithful to publicly renounce their beliefs. "The Classic Novel of Enduring Faith in Dangerous Times. Translated from the Japanese by William Johnston. Includes About the Author About the Translator List of Other Books by Shusaku Endo Foreword by Martin Scorsese Translator's Preface Prologue Appendix: Diary of an Officer at the Christian Residence and An Expanded Discussion Guide for Silence By Shusaku Endo consisting of Praise for Silence Publisher's Note A Note on Silence Meet Shusaku Endo Endo's Influence Discussion Questions and Topics and Recommended Further Reading. As new condition color photographic softcover wraps.
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