Silence

Abstract

The Christianization of Japan began in the sixteenth century by the Jesuits. Japan was a nation closed to foreign influences, yet Christianization was advancing without great difficulties. In the seventeenth century, the authorities decided that Christianity was a dangerous influence and persecuted Christians who were left without priests and forced to hide.

In this situation, two young Portuguese Jesuits travel to Japan in search of the one who was their teacher and for whom they feel great admiration, the missionary Father Ferreira. The latest rumors indicate that, after being persecuted and tortured, Ferreira has renounced his faith and lives as a Buddhist and in the service of the Japanese. However, the two Jesuits do not want to believe it and leave looking for him. In Japan they will live the torture and violence with which the Japanese authorities persecute the Christians they torture to surrender or die.