Endo, Shusaku

▪ 1997

      Japanese novelist (b. March 27, 1923, Tokyo, Japan—d. Sept. 29, 1996, Tokyo), brought a Roman Catholic perspective to examinations of the differences between Eastern and Western cultures, questions of faith, and the conflicts between modern and traditional beliefs and values. He was so highly regarded as to be considered a likely contender for the Nobel Prize, and his work was translated into at least 25 languages. Endo was brought up in China but returned to Japan with his mother when his parents divorced. They lived with a Roman Catholic aunt, and after Endo's mother converted to Christianity, the two persuaded Endo to be baptized. He graduated (1949) from Keio University, Tokyo, and then studied (1950-53) French literature at the University of Lyon, Fr. His first novel, Shiroi hito ("White Man"), appeared in 1955 and was awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize. Three years later the controversial Umi to dokuyaku (The Sea and Poison, 1972), about Japanese doctors performing vivisection on a downed U.S. pilot during World War II, firmly established his reputation. Other works considered to be among Endo's finest were the powerful Chimmoku (1966; Silence, 1969), about Portuguese priests in Japan and their converts' martyrdom; Iesu no shogai (1973; A Life of Jesus, 1978), which won the Dag Hammarskjöld Prize; and Samurai (1980; The Samurai, 1982), which won the Noma Prize for Literature. Endo also wrote comic novels, short stories, dramas, essays, and a biography and was president of the Japanese branch of the international literary guild PEN.

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