17th-century 17th-century-japan acceptance adaptability adaptation adventure alienation ambiguity ambivalence apostasy asian-literature belief belief-system betrayal buddhism catholic-church catholicism christian christian-faith christian-fiction christian-literature christian-martyrdom christian-missionaries christian-persecution christian-theology christianity christianity-in-japan colonialism colonization conflict conscience contemplation conversion convert cross-cultural cultural-adaptation cultural-assimilation cultural-clash cultural-clashes cultural-conflict cultural-identity cultural-imperialism cultural-oppression cultural-relativism culture culture-clash darkness deep-introspection desperation doubt dualities east-asia east-meets-west east-west-relations eastern-culture eastern-philosophy eastern-spirituality eastern-vs-western endurance ethics existentialism exploration exploration-of-faith exploration-of-human-spirit faith faith-and-doubt faith-crisis faithfulness fiction forbidden foreigner forgiveness god gods-silence guilt hidden-christians hidden-faith historic-fiction historical historical-context historical-fiction historical-novel historical-perspective history human-nature human-suffering humanity identity identity-crisis inner-conflict inner-struggle inner-turmoil inquisition intercultural-communication internal-conflict internal-struggle interrogation introspection isolation japan japanese-culture japanese-history japanese-literature japans-hidden-christians jesuit jesuit-missionaries jesuit-priest jesuit-priests jesuits journey judgment language-barrier literary-fiction literature love loyalty martyrdom martyrs mental-torture mission mission-to-japan missionaries missionary missionary-work moral-ambiguity moral-dilemma moral-dilemmas moral-struggle morality mystery nagasaki novel oppression persecution personal-sacrifice personal-struggle portuguese portuguese-missionaries priests psychological psychological-exploration questioning reconciliation redemption religion religion-and-society religion-and-spirituality religious religious-ambiguity religious-belief religious-beliefs religious-conflict religious-conversion religious-doubt religious-exploration religious-faith religious-fanaticism religious-fiction religious-identity religious-intolerance religious-oppression religious-persecution religious-symbolism religious-syncretism religious-tolerance resilience resistance sacrifice salvation samurai secrecy self-discovery self-reflection self-sacrifice shame shusaku-endo silence silence-as-a-theme silence-of-god silence-speaks sin spiritual spiritual-crisis spiritual-journey spiritual-struggle spirituality struggle suffering survival temptation the-human-condition theological-exploration theological-struggle theology tradition transcendence trial truth western-influence