| Endō Shūsaku | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 27, 1923 Tōkyo, Japan |
| Died | September 29, 1996 (aged 73) |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Ethnicity | Japanese |
| Citizenship | Japan |
| Genres | Novels |
| Literary movement | "Third Generation" |
| Notable work(s) | Silence |
| Spouse(s) | Yura Sikoyaki (wife, 1954–1983) |
Shūsaku Endō (遠藤 周作 Endō Shūsaku, March 27, 1923 – September 29, 1996[1]) was a 20th-century Japanese author who wrote from the unusual perspective of being both Japanese and Catholic. Together with Junnosuke Yoshiyuki, Shōtarō Yasuoka, Junzo Shono, Hiroyuki Agawa, Ayako Sono, and Shumon Miura, Endō is categorized as one of the "Third Generation," the third major group of writers who appeared after World War II.
Contents |
Endō was born in Tōkyo in 1923, but his parents soon moved to Japanese-occupied Manchuria (Manchukō),[Morton 1] and lived in Dalian.[1] When his parents divorced in 1933, Endō returned to Japan with his mother to live in Kobe in the house of an aunt.[Williams 1] His mother, who had converted to Catholicism post-divorce,[1] succeeded in having Endō baptized at the age of 11 or 12[Morton 1] in the year 1934.[Williams 1] Others say an aunt instigated the initiation.[2]
Studying at Keio University in Tōkyo beginning in 1943,[Morton 1] Endō graduated in 1947[Morton 2] or 1948.[Williams 1] His studies at Keio were interrupted by the war; he worked in a munitions factory.[Williams 1] More than munitions work held his interest; he contributed to several literary journals during this period as well.[Morton 2] Years later, he became Chief Editor of Mita Bungaku (from 1968).[Williams 2]
His alma mater is not the only university Endō is associated with. He first attended Waseda University for the stated purpose of studying medicine,[1] an interest in French Catholic authors[Morton 1] precipitated a visit to the University of Lyon beginning in 1950,[Morton 2] and he has lectured at at least two Tōkyo universities.[Morton 2] In 1956 he was hired as an Instructor at Sophia University,[Williams 1] and Seijo University assigned him the role of "Lecturer on the Theory of the Novel" in 1967.[Williams 2] He is considered a novelist not a university professor, however.[Morton 2]
In 1954, a year after completing his studies in France, he won the Akutagawa Prize for Shiroi Hito (White Men)[Morton 2] cementing his reputation as an up-and-coming young Japanese fiction prose author. Endō married Junko Okada,[1] who was also a student of French literature at Keio University, a year later.[Morton 2] They are the parents of one son,[Morton 2] Ryunosuke,[2] born in 1956.
Throughout his life periodic bouts of disease plagued him, and he spent two years in hospital at one point.[Morton 2] In 1952, while studying in France, he came down with pleurisy in Paris.[Williams 1] A return visit in 1960 prompted another case of the same disease, and he stayed in hospital (both in France and Japan) for the greater part of 3 years.[Williams 2] It is possible that at some point during his life he may have contracted tuberculosis,[3] underwent thoracoplasty,[3] and had a lung removed.[Morton 2]
While Endō wrote in several genres,[Morton 3] his work is strongly tied to Christianity if not Catholicism. Endō has been called "a novelist whose work has been dominated by a single theme... belief in Christianity".[Morton 1] Others have said that he is "almost by default... [labeled] a 'Japanese Catholic author' struggling to 'plant the seeds of his adopted religion' in the 'mudswamp' of Japan".[1] It is true that he often likened Japan to a swamp or fen[Morton 4] and that many of his characters are allegories.[Morton 3] He may not be embraced by fellow Christians–Catholics in particular, however.[Morton 3] Some of his characters (many of whom are allegories) may reference non-Western religions.[Morton 3] While not the main focus of his works, a few of Endō's books mention Kakure Kirishitan.[Morton 5] Incidentally, he used the term "かくれ切支舟" instead of the more common "かくれキリシタン".[4]
His books reflect many of his childhood experiences, including the stigma of being an outsider, the experience of being a foreigner, the life of a hospital patient, and the struggle with TB. However, his books mainly deal with the moral fabric of life. His Catholic faith can be seen at some level in all of his books and it is often a central feature. Most of his characters struggle with complex moral dilemmas, and their choices often produce mixed or tragic results. His work may often be compared to that of Graham Greene.[Williams 3] In fact, Greene himself labeled Endō one of the finest writers currently alive at the time.[2]
While he lost out to Kenzaburō Õe the 1994 Nobel prize for literature,[2] he did obtain the Order of Culture the subsequent year.[Williams 2] Endō subsequently died from "complications of hepatitis" in 1996.[2]
The Shūsaku Endō Literary Museum, in Sotome, Nagasaki, is devoted to the writer's life and works.