Shusaku endo 1923-1996

Life of Endo Born in Tokyo in 1923 Lived in Manchuria, China until 1933, then moved with his mother to hometown of Kobe when parents divorced At age 12 he became catholic with the encouragement from his mother and aunt. Began studying at Keio University in 1943, but did not graduate until 1948 due to him being drafted into a munitions factory to aid Japan in World War II.

Life of Endo Cont. Went to University of Lyon, located in France in 1950 to continue schooling. Went back home in 1953 from illness. In 1955 he earned Akutagawa Prize for his first work (White Man) He married Okada Junko the same year and they had their only child, Ryunosuke in 1956. He died in 1996 in Tokyo due to illness.

School and Career At Keio University he majored in French Literature(B.A., 1949) Continued this study in the University of Lyon from 1950 to 1953. His first two works were in 1955. “White Man,” and “Yellow Man.” (both led the direction of his later of works) Bridged the gap between western and eastern culture.

Catholic Core A rise to naturalism (humanism) after World War II. When war ended there was no longer any Christian novelist in Japan until Endo. He is largely given credit for the increased acceptance of Christianity in the literature of Japan.

Catholic Core Endo was interested in the Kakure Kirishitan (Hidden Christians). The group of Christians hiding in Japan from the sixteenth to the seventeenth century. Basis for Silence

Identity In His Work Struggle of being a Japanese studying in the West and as a believing Christian in Japan. Compared himself to the people in his novels that faced the same isolation he faced for being a Christian in Japan. Wrote Silence to incorporate his own loneliness and criticisms in his home country and to identify with the Kakure Kirishitan.

His Works White Man (1955) The Golden Country (1970) Yellow Man (1955) Upon The Dead Sea (1973) The Sea and Poison (1958) A Life of Jesus (1973) Wonderful Fool (1959) When I Whistle (1974) Volcano (1960) The Samurai (1980) The Girl I Left Behind (1963) Scandal (1986) Foreign Studies (1965) Deep River (1993) Silence (1966)

Context Set out to bring Christian characters to an Asian audience Creating Christ like figures in his works without referring to Christ.

Works Cited "Suffering the Patient Victory of God: Shusaku Endo and the Lessons of a Japanese Catholic." Brett Dewey :. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015 "Shusaku Endo." New Directions Publishers. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. "Endo Shusaku | Biography - Japanese Author." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. "Shusaku Endo: Japanese Apologist." The C S Lewis Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. "Endo Shusaku." - New World Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. "Endo and Johnston Talk of Buddhism and Christianity." Endo and Johnston Talk of Buddhism and Christianity. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015.