Christianity in Japanese History: Readings II
(updated 29 September 2011)
Class 7; Class 8 ; Class 9; Class 10; Class 11; Class 12
If you have a Keio ID, you can download pdf files containing the readings
from the education support system (keio.jp). For details of how to access
the system, see here.
Note: Where possible I have given information about where you can find
the readings passages in Japanese rather than English. However, remember
that the classes are conducted in English only. Even if you do the readings
in Japanese, you must be able to discuss them in English, with people who
have read the English version rather than the Japanese one. You could read
the passages first in Japanese, and then in English.
Class 7 (See the two readings at "07" on the education support system.)
Reading 1
Extracts from Cary, Otis, A History of Christianity in Japan, 1, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Missions (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1909).
This is the first volume of a two-volume history written by Otis Cary,
a Protestant (Congregational) missionary sent to Japan by the American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. His account therefore gives
us a Protestant missionary's view, but he seems sympathetic towards the
Japanese descendants of the 17th century Christians, and to the French
Roman Catholic missionaries.
Cary's main source is the account by a Catholic counterpart, Francisque
Marnas of the Societe des Missions Etrangeres de Paris, and quotes heavily
from the letters of missionaries, diplomats etc. This is available in French:
La "Religion de Jesus" : (Iaso ja-kyo) ressuscitee au Japon dans
la seconde moitie du XIX siecle, 2 vols. (Paris : Delhomme et Briguet, 1896?)
and in a Japanese translation:
『日本キリスト教復活史』東京 : みすず書房 , 1985.
The first extract (pp. 279-280) deals with the opening of the first Roman
Catholic church in Yokohama, in early 1862.
Note:
1. Loochoo means Ryukyu (琉球), now known as Okinawa. The early French
missionaries, including Mounicou, had all spent some time there.
2. The "three Chinese ideographs" are "Tenshukyo" 天主教,
the name by which Roman Catholic Christianity was known in China.
The second extract (pp. 281-305) deals with events in Nagasaki 1864-1867:
the building of the first Roman Catholic church there since the suppression
of Christianity in the early Tokugawa period; the visit to the church by
the first group of hidden Christians in March 1865; the commencement of
clandestic evangelistic activities among the hidden Christians by the missionaries;
the decision of the Urakami Christians to cut their ties with the local
Buddhist temple; the arrest and interrogation of some of the Christians;
and their release under surveillance soon before the Meiji Revolution.
Note:
By Pater, Petitjean means "the Lord's Prayer", an important Christian prayer which begins "Our Father"
in English (Pater Noster in Latin). On p. 287 he refers again to this, and to other prayers.
Reading 2 Extract from The beginning of heaven and earth: The sacred book of Japan's hidden Christian,. trans. Christal Whelan (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1996).
This is the translation of a version of Tenchi hajimari no koto 天地始之事 , the "unique book of Christian doctrine" mentioned
on p. 285 of Cary's History of Christianity in Japan. The book that Domingo gave Petitjean was destroyed in a fire. This translation
is based on the text given in 海老沢有道[ほか]校注、『キリシタン書・排耶書
』, itself a reconstruction based on two versions dated 1827 and the period
1818-1830 respectively. The origin of the text and its function within
the Christian communities is not clear, but it gives us some insight into
the world view of the hidden Christians.
This particular extract deals with Mary and the birth of Christ. (Note
that while Mary is vivdly portrayed, there is no mention of Joseph.) It
will help you to distinguish between Christian and "non-Christian"
elements if you know the basics of the nativity story as given in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
Note:
1. Anjo: angel; Hiiriyo-sama: filio: the Son (of God); San Gamuriya: the
angel Gabriel; San Jiwan: John the Baptist; Santa Izaberuna: Elizabeth.
2. Roson: Luzon, part of the Philippines; Sanzen Zejusu: 3,000 Jesuses;
Maruya: Maria; Biruzen: virgin
3. There is an Italian legend of snow falling in August in response to
a prayer to Mary. The story of Mary's voyage to heaven seems to be a combination
of Japanese tales of women who turn out to be heavenly beings (such as
Kaguyahime) and the Roman Catholic belief in Mary's "assumption"
into heaven at her death. (However, Mary's subsequent return to earth is
a deviation from both.)
4. The explanation for the origin of the Hail Mary, an important Roman Catholic prayer, and the Lord's Prayer are slightly
mangled.
5. The part about Mary's parents' anger may be influenced by an apocryphal
story of Joseph's anger on discovering Mary's pregnancy. The story of the
bath is also apocryphal.
In the lecture I will talk about the "hidden" Christians who
did not wish to join the Catholic church, but continued to follow the practices
transmitted by their ancestors. Recordings of them saying and chanting
prayers are available on YouTube. This is the first of four parts. Near the beginning of the second one, they can be seen making something similar to the sign of the cross.
The chanting is in the fourth part.
Class 8 (See the five readings at "08" on the education support system.)
Reading 1
A further extract from Cary, Otis, A history of Christianity in Japan, 1, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox missions (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1909).
Again, the main source is Marnas, La "Religion de Jesus" . This part deals with what happened to the Urakami Christians after the
Meiji Revolution: the renewed interrogation of some of them, discussions
between government officials and foreign diplomatic representatives, the
deportation of Urakami Christians and the imprisonment of others, and the
resulting diplomatic controversies.
Reading 2
Extract from Cary, Otis, A history of Christianity in Japan, 2, Protestant missions (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1909).
This gives a missionary-eye view of the formation of what is generally
known as "the Yokohama band", a group of Christians who played
a major role in the development of Protestant (Presbyterian) Christianity
in Japan. They had been taught by missionaries belonging to different missionary
societies (the American Presbyterian Mission and the Dutch Reformed Mission
of America), but the missionaries agreed that they should come together
to form a "united" church.
Note:
1. "Dr Verbeck" is a Dutch Reformed (= Presbyterian) missionary who was at this time an advisor to the Japanese Ministry of Education
2. "The Acts" means the part of the New Testament (the Bible) known as "The Acts of the Apostles". It deals with the evangelistic activities of the disciples after Christ's death.
3. "Man-of-war" is an armed ship belonging to a navy.
Reading 3
Extract from Kozaki, Hiromichi, Reminiscences of seventy years: The autobiography of a Japanese pastor, trans. Nariaki Kozaki (Tokyo: Kyo Bun Kwan, 1929).
Kozaki 小崎弘道 was a member of another major founding group of Protestant
Christianity in Japan, "the Kumamoto band". He went on to become
a leader of the Japanese Congregational Church. This extract from his autobiography
describes the process by which he became a Christian while at the Kumamoto
Yogakko (School of Western Learning) 熊本洋学校, and his experiences at the
early Doshisha 同志社英学校. This had been founded in Kyoto by Niijima (Niishima)
Jo 新島襄 and missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions (which by this time was a Congregational missionary society).
Note:
1. "The doctrine of expediency" means 方便
2. Kozaki refers to three schools of Confucian thought at Kumamoto. By
the "Pragmatic School" he means the 実学党 associated with Yokoi
Shonan 横井小楠, a Kumamoto samurai who advocated radical reform of Japan
through combining Confucian ethical teachings with Western science and
technology. Yokoi's understanding of Confucianism was based on Wang Yangming 王陽明 （陽明学）rather than the "orthodox Neo-Confucianism"
of Zhu Xi 朱子 (朱子学). Significant aspects of Wang Yangming's teachings are said to
be the idea that all human beings possess the ability to distinguish between
right and wrong (equivalent to the Christian idea of the conscience), and
the related emphasis on the unity of (moral) action and (moral) knowledge.
3. Shimpuren uprising 神風連の乱: a rebellion expressing samurai dissatisfaction
with the loss of their privileges, precursor of Saigo Takamori's larger
scale rebellion of the next year.
4. Takezaki= Takezaki Sado 竹崎茶堂, disciple of Yokoi Shonan and teacher
of Confucian ethics at the Yogakko
5. Daigaku Wakumon 大学惑 問 and Shugi Washo (not "Washio") 集義和書 are both works by Kumazawa Banzan 熊沢蕃山,
a major Tokugawa scholar of Wang Yangming's school of Confucianism. His
criticisms of the structure of the Tokugawa system attracted the attention
of late Tokugawa/early Meiji reformers, including Yokoi.
6. Captain Janes was the charismatic American employed by Kumamoto domain
(via Verbeck) to teach "Western learning" at the Yogakko. He
did not directly teach anything about Christianity until some of the students
asked him to do so.
7. Ebina = Ebina Danjo; Yokoi = Yokoi Tokio, Yokoi Shonan's son. Both became
prominent figures in the Congregational Church
8. Bushnell's Nature and the Supernatural: A book by the American Congregational thinker, Horace Bushnell, that
aimed to reconcile Christianity and science.
9. the great persecution... A group of the Yogakko pupils had signed a
"covenant" setting out their belief in Christianity (see Reading
4). When this became known they were put under great pressure to change
their minds. Yokoi Tokio's mother even threatened to commit suicide.
10. Tokutomi Iichiro, also a member of the Kumamoto band, later abandoned
Christianity and became the prominent journalist and writer known as Tokutomi
Soho 徳富蘇峰. (His younger brother, referred to as Tokutomi Kenjiro in Reading
4 is better known as the novelist Tokutomi Roka 徳富蘆花)
11. Hongwanji 本願寺 at Kyoto: main temple of True Pure Land Buddhism 浄土真宗
Reading 4
Extract from Notehelfer, F. G., American Samurai: Captain L.L.Janes and Japan (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985).
This extract describes the signing of the covenant by the original members
of the Kumamoto band and also gives most of the text.
Reading 5
Extracts from Furuki, Yoshiko et al. (eds), The attic letters: Ume Tsuda's correspondence to her American mother (New York: Weatherhill, 1991).
This extract is from a letter by Tsuda Ume/Umeko 津田 梅/梅子, who later founded the women's educational establishment that is now known
as Tsuda College 津田塾大学. In 1871, her father, the Meiji enlightenment intellectual Tsuda Sen 津田仙, sent her to the U.S. so that she could be educated there. She was six years old at the time. She remained in the U.S. until the age of 18, staying in the home of Charles Lanman, secretary to the Japanese diplomatic mission in Washington. His wife (Adeline) became her "American mother". While there she became a Christian.
Note:
1. Kozaki is Kozaki Hiromichi, author of Reading 3. After graduating from
Doshisha in Kyoto he came to Tokyo where he wrote and evangelized, founding
a church.
2. Shige and Sutematsu went to the U.S. at the same time as Tsuda and also
became Christian.
3. Tsuda Sen's school was an agricultural college.
Class 9 (See the four readings at "09" on the education support system.)
Reading 1
Letter from Uchimura Kanzo to David Bell, March 6, 1891, in Uchimura Kanzo zenshu, 36 (Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1983).
Uchimura Kanzo 内村鑑三 is Japan's most prominent Christian. A member of the
Sapporo band, he never belonged to any denomination and founded the "churchless"
無教会 movement. In this letter to his American friend, Uchimura gives his
version of the famous lese majeste incident (内村不敬事件), in which he was accused
of not paying proper respect to the Emperor.
Note:
1. The Imperial Rescript on Education 教育勅語 had been issued in October 1890. As a major purpose of education
in Japan it mentioned turning people into loyal subjects of the Emperor.
Copies of the Rescript were sent to all schools to be read out. The copies
sent to the prestigious "Higher Middle Schools", including the
one in Tokyo (第一高等学校) where Uchimura was then a teacher, had the Emperor's
name (Mutsuhito 睦仁) actually written with a brush. This is what Uchimura
calls the "Imperial signature". (The link is to the website of
Meiji Jingu, the shrine to Emperor Meiji built in Shibuya-ku in 1920.)
2. Uchimura says "I took my stand and did not bow!", but witnesses said that he hesitated and only inclined his
head rather than bowing from the waist like everyone else.
3. (p. 333) Since Uchimura was too ill to make the bow himself, a friend
stood in for him.
Reading 2
Extract from Kozaki, Hiromichi, Reminiscences of seventy years: The autobiography of a Japanese pastor, trans. Nariaki Kozaki (Tokyo: Kyo Bun Kwan, 1929).
This extract deals with a meeting of Buddhist, Shinto and Christian leaders
held during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) in order to express their
support of the Japanese side. A disproportionate number of Christians attended,
presumably because they welcomed the opportunity to show their solidarity
with Japan even though Russia was a Christian nation. A minority of Christian
intellectuals, including Uchimura Kanzo, opposed the war. (Missionaries in Japan also tended to be sympathetic with its war aims.
Of course, mainstream Christians in Western countries at this time normally
saw their faith as being compatible with support for their countries during
times of war.)
Note:
1. Yoichi (Yoitsu) Honda 本多 庸一was a leader of the Methodists日本メソヂスト教会,
Sakunoshin Motoda 元田作之進 a leader of the Episcopal Church 日本聖公会, and Kajinosuke
Ibuka 井深梶之助 of the Presbyterians日本基督教会. Kozaki himself was a leader of
the other main Protestant group, the Congregationalists 組合教会.
2. By "Greek Catholics", Kozaki means the Japanese branch of
the Orthodox Church 日本正教会. In fact, this was lead by a Russian, Bishop
Nikolai ニコライ, and mucth of its funding came from Russia. However, while
Nikolai himself made it clear to the church members that he was praying
for a Russian victory, he did not appear at religious services during the
war and allowed the church members to pray publicly for Japan to win.
3. Imbrie was a Presbyterian missionary.
4.Ozaki Yukio 尾崎 行雄, a prominent member of the Lower House of the Japanese
Diet, may have become a Christian while studying at Keio. At this time
he supported Japan's military efforts overseas, but became a supporter
of dearmament after World War 1.
Reading 3
Extracts from: Nitobe, Inazo,Thoughts and essays (Tokyo: Teibi Publishing, 1909).
Nitobe, Inazo, 'Japanese colonization', Asian review, 4, 16 (Jan. 1920).
Extract from Nitobe, Inazo, Lectures on Japan: An outline of the development of the Japanese people
and their culture (Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 1936).
.
Nitobe Inazo 新渡戸稲造, a member of the Sapporo band, joined the Quakers while
in the U.S. but was active as an educator and spokesman for Japan on the
international stage rather than as a Christian leader. He was an under-secretary
general at the League of Nations from 1920to 1926. The extracts span the
period from 1905 to 1932, but all show him defending Japanese foreign policy.
"Japan's New Duties and Responsibilities" (from Thoughts and Essays) was written soon after Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). In "Japanese colonization", delivered as a paper to the Japan Society in London in December 1919, he emphasizes the similarities between the colonial policies of Japan and Britain. Chapter XVI of Lectures on Japan, originally a radio speech broadcasted in the U.S. 1932, was written after
the Manchurian Incident 満州事変, but before the League of Nations had
found in favour of China's appeal. Nitobe died in the following year.
Note:
On p. 119 of "Japanese colonization", Nitobe is giving an official
Japanese view of the March 1st Movement (Korean demonstrations against
Japanese colonial rule that had started on March 1st 1919 and were still
occurring at the time of his speech). He does not seem concerned about
the violence used by Japanese troops in trying to stop the demonstrations,
dismissing eye-witness accounts by foreign missionaries. I will talk about
this more in class.
Reading 4
Extracts from Yashiro, James Takashi, (ed.), 'Fascinated by Japan: War-time
memoirs of Leonora Edith Lea', Momoyama Gakuin Daigaku Kirisutokyo ronshu, 10 (March 1974)
Leonora Lea was the daughter of a Canadian missionary and lived in Japan from the age of two until she was seventeen (1897-1912). She returned to Japan as a missionary in 1927 and stayed there throughout World War II. She was a teacher at a mission school for girls in Kobe but also developed a close friendship with Michael Hinsuke Yashiro 八代斌助, a Japanese priest who later became a Bishop of the Japanese branch of the Anglican church (日本聖公会）. Because she had spent her childhood in Japan, she was fluent in the language and probably had a greater understanding of what was happening than the average missionary. (Please ignore the many misprints in the text.)
In the first extract she is mainly describing the atmosphere in Kobe in
the 1930s, in particular the way in which missionaries and Japanese Christians
were responding to the increasing pressure on ordinary people to take part
in Shinto and Emperor-related rituals.
Note:
"Diana or Christ?" Diana refers to the Roman goddess of that name. When Christianity
was under persecution in the Roman Empire, Christians were faced with a
choice of burning incense in front of the statue of a Roman deity such
as Diana, or martyrdom. Lea may have been thinking of this painting...
In the second extract, she discusses the process that led to the formation of the United Church of Christ in Japan 日本基督教団 in 1941and the various practical difficulties that faced churches during this period. There was a conflict within the Japanese Episcopal Church 日本聖公会 over whether or not to join the United Church. Like the Anglican church in Britain, there was a division within the 日本聖公会 between those who were evangelical and those who were closer to Catholicism than to other Protestant groups. Not surprisingly, the former had a more positive attitude to ecumenism, and they were also more eager to enter the 日本基督教団. (
Lea supports Yashiro, who was less positive about ecumenism. In the event,
the less evangelical part of the 日本聖公会 did not join. After the war,
the 日本聖公会 was reunited. Some other groups also left 日本基督教団 at
this time.
Note:
Religious Bill: This is 宗教団体法 in Japanese.
Godo: 合同
Kagawa Toyohiko 賀川豊彦 was a Christian leader who had worked in the slums
and in the labour movement. Lea is critical of him, but as she says, he
had a very high profile among evangelicals in Northern America and Britain.
Class 10 (See the four readings at "10" on the education support system.)
Reading 1
Extracts from The complete works of Kanzo Uchimura, 1, How I became a Christian: Out of my diary
Japanese translation: 『余は如何にして基督信徒となりし乎』
How I became a Christian is Uchimura's account of his life up until his return from studying in
the United States in 1888. It was first published in 1895 (after the 不敬事件
mentioned above) and was aimed at a Western (American) audience, although
it also came out in Japan. (Note the very different tones of the prefaces
to the Japanese and American editions.) It is not a straightforward autobiographical
account; indeed he makes no mention of the failure of his first marriage
although it was one of the main reasons behind his decision to leave Japan
temporarily in order to study abroad. It is also clear that he has a message
for Western Christians. (What is this?)
The first part deals with his conversion.
Note:
1. Jonathan is the nickname that Uchimura had at the Sapporo Nogakko; it
is also the name of a Biblical figure, the son of King Saul and friend
to David, who becomes king of the Jews after the death of Saul and Jonathan.
David and Jonathan are symbols of faithful friendship.
2. The D.C.Bell mentioned in the preface to the American edition is the
same Bell as the one to whom Uchimura wrote the letter that was Reading
1 for Week 9.
3. Uchimura describes his experiences at the Sapporo Nogakko. W.S. Clark
had already left by the time Uchimura entered, but the second-year students
put pressure on Uchimura and and the other new students to try to get them
to convert. Uchimura claims that he was one of the last to sign the Covenant
of Believers, but in fact his signature is around the middle rather than
near the end.
The second part deals with his impressions of the U.S. on his arrival in
1884.
Note:
1. Hebraisms: Biblical language. (Hebrew is the language of the Old Testament.)
On p. 105, Uchimura claims that he expected all Americans to speak language
influence by the Bible. However, on p.107 he complains that when he heard
words from the Bible they were being used in order to swear: for example,
"By God", and "Jesus Christ". The Third Commandment
("Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord Thy God in vain")
forbids swearing.
2. Hamitic origin: According to Genesis, Ham, one of the sons of Noah,
was cursed by Noah and then went to Egypt. He was thought to be the ancestor
of Africans, and this idea was later used as a justification of slavery.
Uchimura's tone suggests a degree of racial prejudice although he later
criticizes racial segregation in the U.S.
3. Matt. 10: 32: A verse of the Gospel according to Matthew telling people
to share their faith.
4. Japhetic: European, Caucasian
5. Sina: シナ, China
6. Cervantes: creator of Don Quixote
7. protege of St Patrick: someone protected by the patron saint of Ireland, in other
words, someone of Irish descent
8. Hottentot: a word used to refer to Africans, normally in the context
that they were primitive.
9. external evidence: Missionaries tried to prove the superiority of Christianity
not only by referring to the "internal evidence" of its teachings
(for example, by arguing that the moral standards of the Bible were higher
than those of Buddhism), but also by referring to "external evidence"
from outside Christianity itself, such as the superior civilization of
countries where Christianity was the main religion.
Reading 2
Extracts from The complete works of Kanzo Uchimura, 5, Essays and Editorials 1, 1886-June, 1897 (Tokyo: Kyobunkwan, 1971-1972).
These are all essays written by Uchimura as English-language columnist
for the Japanese newspaper called Yorozu choho萬朝報. The meaning of nos. 30 and 43 is fairly clear. In no. 42, he comments on various cases of corruption. The second reference is to the pollution caused by the Ashio copper mine. In no. 61 he spends the first three sections criticizing missionary activity
(for example, their emphasis on denominational divisions in section 3)
and the remaining four sections giving his view of what is true Christianity.
Reading 3
Extracts from The complete works of Kanzo Uchimura, 4, The Japan Christian Intelligencer (Tokyo: Kyobunkwan, 1972).
These are editorials from The Japan Christian Intelligencer, an English-language journal that Uchimura published from 1926 to 1928.
In no. 9 he defends his use of the term "Japanese Christianity".
No. 13 is a prose poem containing his hope that Japan will serve the world
rather than its own narrow self interests. In no. 21 he denies that Japan
is less "Christian" than any other country, including the United
States. No. 22, "Two J's" is another prose poem, famous as an
expression of Uchimura's lifelong endeavour to reconcile his Christian
faith with his loyalty to Japan.
Reading 4
Extract from Nitobe, Inazo, Bushido, the soul of Japan: An exposition of Japanese thought (Philadelphia: Leeds & Biddle, 1900).
This is the last chapter of Nitobe's famous attempt to demonstrate to Western
audiences that Japan had a spiritual tradition similar to the Western tradition
of chivalry. It is still popular in Japan today, as an authentic exposition
of "the soul of Japan" and a new translation into modern Japanese
was published in 2005. However, it is necessary to examine the accuracy
of Nitobe's portrayal of Bushido, and the evidence behind the assumption
that Bushido had - and still has - such a deep influence on Japanese culture.
Pay particular attention to the long paragraph on pp.139-140. By "The Kingdom of God", Nitobe means a state in which the ideals of Christianity have been fulfilled, probably either within individual Christians or some time in the future when the aims of God have been achieved throughout creation. What does Nitobe suggest about the relationship between Bushido and this
Kingdom?
Reading 5 (optional)
Akutagawa Ryunosuke's short stories on the early Roman Catholic converts
have been translated by Yoshiko and Andrew Dystra (Japanese Religions, 31/1. Jan. 2006) and can be found here.
Class 11
Reading 1 (Please download this from the education support system.)
Extract from Nagai Takashi, The bells of Nagasaki, trans. William Johnston (Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1984).
This is the penultimate chapter of 『長崎の鐘』, Nagai's famous account of his
experiences in Nagasaki from the morning of 9 August, 1945, the day when
the atomic bomb fell. He was both a nuclear physicist and a convert to
Roman Catholicism. This chapter includes his reflections on the religious
meaning of the bomb.
Other readings:
These are all online documents related to the political stance of mainstream
Christian churches in Japan since the end of World War II. They should
be self-explanatory. I will deal with both the issue of confessions of
responsibility for Japan's actions during World War II and the postwar
role of Yasukuni shrine in the lecture.
Nihon Kirisutokyodan’s “CONFESSION OF RESPONSIBILITY DURING WORLD WAR”, 26 March, 1967 (The official English translation is given under the Japanese original.)
Letter from various Christian leaders of Japan to Prime Minister Koizumi regarding his projected visit to Yasukuni shrine, 10 August, 2001. (The letter itself is given after an explanation of the background to the letter and an appeal for support from the Asian Human Rights Commission.)
A Call by the Bishops of Japan for a Peaceful Solution to the Problem of Iraq, 21 February, 2003.
PETITION FOR THE RATIFICATION OF THE "INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF ALL MIGRANT WORKERS AND MEMBERS OF THEIR FAMILIES", 1 December 1997
Message from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan: Freedom of religion and separation of Government and Religion, 21 February, 2007
Class 12 (See the two readings at "12" on the education support system.)
Reading 1
Extract from Endo Shusaku, Silence, trans. William Johnston (Tokyo: Sophia University, 1969).
This is the final chapter of Endo's famous novel 『沈黙』, set in the times
of the early Tokugawa persecution of Christianity. It includes Endo's well-known
reference to Japan as a "swamp" (泥沼) and the image of Christ
identifying himself with the suffering of the weak apostate rather than
the suffering of the ultimately victorious martyr. You really need to read
the whole novel, including the appendix, rather than just this extract.
What is Endo's message? Is it a distinctively Japanese message or does it have universal relevance?
Reading 2
Extract from Tanabe, George J., Jr. (ed.) Religions of Japan in Practice (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1999)
This does not need any introduction since the extract includes an explanation
of the readings as well as the readings themselves.