Shūsaku Endō wrote the novel adapted into Martin Scorsese’s film Silence.
Endō’s novel, Silence, was published in Japan in 1966. It follows Jesuit priests who travel to seventeenth-century Japan while Christianity is being suppressed. The book examines faith, persecution, apostasy, cultural conflict, and the apparent silence of God during suffering.
Scorsese’s film was released in 2016 and stars Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, and Liam Neeson. The story is set mainly in Japan and is based on historical persecution of Christians during the Tokugawa period. It presents religious belief as a morally difficult experience rather than a simple adventure.
Silence had a long development history. Scorsese became interested in adapting Endō’s novel decades before production began. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. Endō, a Catholic writer in Japan, drew on the tension between his Christian faith and Japanese cultural context when shaping the novel.