The Samurai (Peter Owen Modern Classic) - Softcover

Endo, Shusaku

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0720613531 ISBN 13: 9780720613537

Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers, 2011

Synopsis

"Endo to my mind is one of the finest living novelists."  —Graham Greene In 1613, four low-ranking Japanese Samurai, accompanied by a Spanish priest, set sail for Mexico on an unprecedented mission: to bargain for a Catholic crusade through Japan in exchange for trading rights with the West. Among the first Japanese ever to set foot in Europe, they travel to Rome and gain an audience with the Pope. All are baptized, hoping to curry favor with their European hosts. But upon returning to Japan, they discover that the Shoguns no longer wish to forge links with the West, nor will they tolerate the Christian religion. The seven-year mission has been in vain. Disgraced and tormented, the Samurai begin to identify deeply with the crucified Christ they formerly reviled. Based on historical fact, this is a powerful examination of the impact of external events on our deepest beliefs.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

The Samurai, without doubt one of the late Shusaku Endo's finest works, seamlessly combines historical fact with novelist's imaginings. Set in the period preceding the Christian persecutions in Japan, The Samurai traces the steps of some of the first Japanese to set foot on European soil. Rokuemon Hasekura, a low-ranking warrior, is chosen as one of Japan's envoys to the Viceroy of Mexico and Pope Paul V. The emissaries set sail in 1613, accompanied by an ambitious Franciscan missionary who hopes to bargain trading privileges with the West for the right to head his order in Japan. The arduous journey lasts four years, and the Japanese travel from Mexico to Rome, where they are persuaded that the success of their mission depends on their conversion willy-nilly to Christianity. In fact, the enterprise has been futile from the start and the mission returns to Japan where the political tides have shifted: the authorities are pursuing an isolationist policy and a ruthless stamping out of all Western influences. In the face of disillusionment and death, samurai Rokuemon's only support and solace come from the spiritual lord he is not even sure he believes in.

About the Author:

Widely regarded as the most distinguished of contemporary Japanese writers and several times shortlisted for the Nobel Prize, Shusaku Endo (1923—1996) won many major literary prizes in his lifetime. His books have been translated into 28 languages and include Deep River, Foreign Studies, Scandal, Silence, The Sea and Poison, and Wonderful Fool.

About this edition

• Publisher: Peter Owen Publishers
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0720613531
• ISBN 13: 9780720613537
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 272