For discussion: The Samurai by Shusaku Endo

26 October 2012

There has been a lot written about this novel since it was first published (and then translated into English) in the 1980s. It is appreciated for its literary value, but I want us to focus on its value in imparting history. It is based on a real event. Discuss:

  1. Ways in which you see it as a useful ‘historical document’
  2. What makes it problematic as a ‘historical document’. In answering this, keep in mind my questions about ‘A Woman and her Five suitors’ – what all time periods do we have to keep in mind in decoding the historical meaning of this novel.

What are the basic events that occur in this first part of the novel? What value do you find in the way he describes the scene and characters in Japan?

One of the things that Endo is evocative (convincing) about describing is the varied ways in which characters in the novel think about conversion, and go about either encouraging individuals to convert, or decide for themselves to convert. Discuss:

  1. Velasco’s actions and motives
  2. The merchants
  3. The merchants
  4. The envoys
  5. The Viceroy in Nuevo Espana

Is it possible to know what people ‘thought and felt’ in the past? How??

It is probably easier to know about the varied reason that the trade mission took place – they are related in some ways to the above. What all reasons were behind the mission?

In the epilogue Endo says he was the first Japanese person to study outside of Japan in the post-war period. What happened in Japan after WWII, and why might that be related to the period in which the novel is set?

For discussion: The Samurai by Shusaku Endo

26 October 2012

There has been a lot written about this novel since it was first published (and then translated into English) in the 1980s. It is appreciated for its literary value, but I want us to focus on its value in imparting history. It is based on a real event. Discuss:

  1. Ways in which you see it as a useful ‘historical document’
  2. What makes it problematic as a ‘historical document’. In answering this, keep in mind my questions about ‘A Woman and her Five suitors’ – what all time periods do we have to keep in mind in decoding the historical meaning of this novel.

What are the basic events that occur in this first part of the novel? What value do you find in the way he describes the scene and characters in Japan?

One of the things that Endo is evocative (convincing) about describing is the varied ways in which characters in the novel think about conversion, and go about either encouraging individuals to convert, or decide for themselves to convert. Discuss:

  1. Velasco’s actions and motives
  2. The merchants
  3. The merchants
  4. The envoys
  5. The Viceroy in Nuevo Espana

Is it possible to know what people ‘thought and felt’ in the past? How??

It is probably easier to know about the varied reason that the trade mission took place – they are related in some ways to the above. What all reasons were behind the mission?

In the epilogue Endo says he was the first Japanese person to study outside of Japan in the post-war period. What happened in Japan after WWII, and why might that be related to the period in which the novel is set?