ENDO SHUSAKU

   Endo Shusaku, a Catholic author, was one of the postwar Third Generation writers. Endo was born in Tokyo in 1923, but soon moved with his family to Japan-occupied Manchuria. When his parents divorced in 1933, Endo returned to Japan with his mother to live in Kobe. Endo’s mother converted to Catholicism when Endo was a small child. His books reflect many of his childhood experiences, and his Catholic faith and ambivalence about it permeate his writing. Works, primarily I-Novels, include Shiroi hito (1955; tr. White Man, 1976), for which he won the Akutagawa Ryunosuke Prize, Chinmoku (1969; tr. Silence, 1969), which won the 1966 Tanizaki Jun’ichiro Prize, and his final novel, Deepu ribaa (1993; tr. Deep River, 1994).

   See also CHRISTIAN LITERATURE; COLONIAL LITERATURE; KAKURE KIRISHITAN; NAGASAKI.