About
Shūsaku Endō was a major 20th-century Japanese writer known for novels exploring Christian faith in the Japanese context. Baptized Catholic at age 11, he studied French literature at Keio University and then in Lyon. His work, marked by the theme of Japan as a 'mudswamp', questions the adaptation of Christianity to Japanese culture. He won the Akutagawa Prize in 1955 for 'White Man' and the Tanizaki Prize in 1966 for 'Silence', his masterpiece about the persecution of Christians in the 17th century. He was elected to the Japan Art Academy in 1982 and received the Order of Culture in 1995.
* 1923-03-27 — † 1996-09-28
Major works
- Shiroi Hito (1955)novel
- Chinmoku (1966)novel
- The Sea and Poison (1957)novel
- The Samurai (1980)novel
- Deep River (1993)novel
Key milestones
- 1955Won the Akutagawa Prize for 'White Man'.
- 1966Won the Tanizaki Prize for 'Silence'.
- 1995Received the Order of Culture, Japan's highest cultural honor.
Themes
Christianity and Japanese cultureFaith and doubtReligious persecutionJapan as a 'mudswamp'Redemption and suffering
Sources: britannica.com · ilcf.net