The Samurai

A gripping adventure story from ＂a masterly historical writer＂ about a Japanese expedition to cross the Pacific Ocean in the 17th century (David Mitchell)

＂A historical fiction with meanings for many cultures and all seasons, and a great travel narrative; its re-creations of place are extraordinary.＂ ― The New York Times Book Review

＂All of Endo’s work has been influential. He truly understands what it means to be both of ― and not of ― a place.＂ ― Caryl Phillips, author of The Lost Child

A classic of Japanese literature, The Samurai is one of Shūsaku Endo’s finest and most atmospheric works, brilliantly conveying the searing traumas of faith, both lost and newly discovered.

In 17th-century Japan, a ship sets sail for Nueva España as part of an envoy to expand trade with the West. Onboard are a zealous Spanish missionary, who dreams of becoming bishop of Japan, and a disenchanted Samurai seeking to recover his lost family lands.

In a journey full of peril, both men’s lives and ambitions hang in the balance as political machinations loom large and the terrifying persecution of Christians advances through Japan.

Winner of the 1980 Noma Literary Prize, The Samurai is an intensely moving portrait of human courage and endurance, taken from a real event in history, and told with Endo’s signature stark simplicity.

Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: outstanding classic storytelling from around the world, in a stylishly original series design. From newly rediscovered gems to fresh translations of the world’s greatest authors, this series includes such authors as Stefan Zweig, Hermann Hesse, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and Gaito Gazdanov.

Shūsaku Endō (1923-1966) is one of Japan’s most distinguished novelists, noted for his examination of the relationship between East and West through a Catholic perspective. He achieved international acclaim following the publication of his 1966 novel Silence, which was adapted into a 2016 film by director Martin Scorsese. Endō was the recipient of multiple major literary awards, including the Akutagawa Prize and the Order of Culture, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize.

Van C. Gessel is renowned for his work as the primary translator for the Japanese novelist Shūsaku Endō. He obtained his Ph.D. in Japanese literature from Columbia University. In 2018 Gessel was honoured with the Order of the Rising Sun for his outstanding work in Japanese Literature and won the Lindsley and Masao Miyoshi Translation Prize in 2020-2021 for lifetime achievement as a translator of modern Japanese fiction.