17th-century 17th-century-japan acceptance adaptation ambiguity ambition ambivalence anxiety apostasy belief belief-system betrayal buddhism catholicism christian-faith christian-fiction christian-literature christian-missionaries christian-persecution christian-theology christianity christianity-in-japan class colonialism colonization comparison competition conflict conscience consumerism conversion convert cross-cultural cultural-assimilation cultural-clash cultural-clashes cultural-conflict cultural-criticism cultural-critique cultural-identity cultural-imperialism cultural-relativism culture culture-clash doubt east-asia east-meets-west east-west-relations eastern-culture eastern-philosophy eastern-spirituality eastern-vs-western endurance existentialism exploration exploration-of-faith faith faith-and-doubt faith-crisis faithfulness fame fear fiction forbidden foreigner forgiveness fulfillment god guilt happiness hidden-christians historical historical-context historical-fiction historical-novel human-nature human-suffering humanity identity identity-crisis inequality inner-conflict inner-struggle inner-turmoil insecurity internal-conflict internal-struggle introspection isolation japan japan-history japanese-culture japanese-history japanese-literature japans-hidden-christians jesuit jesuit-missionaries jesuit-priest jesuit-priests jesuits journey literature love loyalty martyrdom materialism mission missionaries missionary missionary-work modern-life modern-society moral-ambiguity moral-dilemma moral-dilemmas moral-struggle morality nagasaki novel oppression persecution personal-growth personal-sacrifice personal-struggle philosophy philosophy-of-life portuguese portuguese-missionaries priests psychological psychology questioning redemption religion religion-and-society religion-and-spirituality religious religious-ambiguity religious-belief religious-beliefs religious-conflict religious-conversion religious-exploration religious-faith religious-fanaticism religious-fiction religious-identity religious-intolerance religious-oppression religious-persecution religious-syncretism religious-tolerance resilience resistance sacrifice salvation samurai secrecy self-discovery self-esteem self-help self-improvement self-reflection self-sacrifice self-worth shame shusaku-endo silence silence-of-god silence-speaks sin social-class social-commentary social-comparison social-hierarchy social-status societal-expectations societal-norms societal-pressure societal-pressures society sociology spiritual-crisis spiritual-journey spiritual-struggle spirituality status status-anxiety struggle success suffering survival temptation theological-exploration theology tradition truth wealth western-influence