The Samurai  / Shusaku Endo 

Published in 1980, and brilliantly translated into English by Van C. Gessel in 1982, The Samurai is
a fictionalized account of the true story of Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga, a 17th Century samurai
serving under Lord Date Masamune of Sendai, who was sent on a diplomatic mission to the Vatican
in Rome via Mexico and various European ports. His protagonist is the wily Franciscan missionary,
Father Valesco, based on the real life Friar Luis Sotelo.  As the self centered Valesco seeks to further
his position in his quest to be made Bishop of Japan, he misleads his Japanese charges in their futile mission.



Forced to receive baptism in order to complete his mission, Hasekura reluctantly follows Valesco and finds
himself at odds with his samurai training and the perceived need to adapt to the situations faced.

Shusaku Endo (1923-1996) was one of Japans’ most awarded leading writers. His works often focus
on the moral fabric of life, with characters struggling with various complex moral dilemmas. This book,
the Samurai, is one of his best. Anyone having experienced visiting a foreign country where the words
and manners of the hosts are unfamiliar, can no doubt imagine the discomfort Hasekura must have
felt during his travels, and sympathise with the plight of the Japanese from the onset to the end of
their journey.

The mission itself was futile from the start. Launched in 1613, the ambassadors returned from their
four year mission to find the political situation in Japan had very much changed, and instead of
welcoming foreign trade, was about to embark on a 200 year long period of isolation.