It seems to me that the samurai in Endo's Silence view Catholicism the same way Americans view kudzu: as an invasive agent to be rooted out and sent back where it came from. Here, the war between samurai and Catholics is not a war of equal powers but a war of attrition to see if Japanese Christians will outlast persecution.
As history would later show, they would not. The Shimabara Rebellion would come, and Catholicism, due to its foreignness, would fail to last in the "mud swamp" of Japan (though perhaps it may one day take a new form that is more palatable to the Far East).
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That's very interesting, I was wondering about the historical aspects of this story. I will definitely have to look up the Shimabara Rebellion and what all happened, thanks for the tip, Josh! Oh, and BTW, I would love to see a Deadliest Warrior episode that featured the Samurai vs...well, what specialized military units do the Catholics have? Is there a special sort of warrior monk that can fight the samurai or I am looking at the Papal Guard as a possible rival...or a priest with laser eyes?
ReplyDeleteNowadays, the Pope could take on the whole samurai army if he wanted to. I bet he hides an Uzi under his hat.
DeleteTemplar Knights (not the Assassin's Creed Templars. Those Catholic Warriors. It would make for an interesting showdown...
ReplyDelete