17th-century 17th-century-japan acceptance adaptation alienation ambiguity ambivalence apostasy asian-literature belief belief-system betrayal biography british buddhism catholicism christian christian-faith christian-fiction christian-literature christian-martyrdom christian-missionaries christian-persecution christian-theology christianbiography christianity christianity-in-japan christianmartyrs churchhistory colonialism colonization conflict conscience 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 doubt drama duality east-asia east-meets-west east-west-conflict east-west-relations eastern-culture eastern-philosophy eastern-spirituality eastern-vs-western endurance ethics existentialism exploration exploration-of-conscience exploration-of-faith exploration-of-identity faith faith-and-doubt faith-crisis faithfulness fiction forbidden foreigner foreigners forgiveness general god greatbritain guilt hidden-christians historical historical-context historical-fiction historical-novel history human-nature human-suffering humanity identity identity-crisis inner-conflict inner-struggle inner-turmoil inquisition intercultural-communication internal-conflict internal-struggle internal-struggles introspection isolation japan japan-christianity japan-history japanese-culture japanese-history japanese-literature japans-hidden-christians jesuit jesuit-mission jesuit-missionaries jesuit-priest jesuit-priests jesuits journey literary-fiction literature love loyalty martyrdom miscellaneous 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-syncretism religious-tolerance resilience resistance rulers sacrifice saints salvation samurai secrecy self-discovery self-sacrifice shame shusaku-endo silence silence-and-spirituality silence-as-a-theme silence-of-god silence-speaks sin spiritual-crisis spiritual-journey spiritual-struggle spiritual-struggles spirituality struggle suffering survival temptation the-human-condition theological-exploration theological-struggle theology tradition trial truth western-influence