Shusaku Endo is considered one of Japan's greatest modern writers. Hisnovel Silence is acknowledged as a masterpiece and has been translated intomany languages. The Final Martyrs, published in English just before hisdeath in 1996, reinforced his reputation as a major literary figure.E ndo wasborn in 1923 and converted to Christianity as a boy. His stories and novelsattempt to integrate his religious faith with Japanese culture. Endorsements "This is the whole life of Jesus. It stands out clean and simple, likea single Chinese ideograph brushed on a blank sheet of paper. It wasso clean and simple that no one could ever make sense of it, and noone could produce its like." —Shusaku Endo "Endo's graceful life of Christ ranks with that of Frarn;ois Mauriac as oneof the great volumes of its kind written in this century." —Harry James Cargas "He knows the land. His descriptions of the Judean countryside and the littletowns that dot it, and of the incredibly bleak and empty desert, are amongthe most real and poetic I have ever read." —The Catholic Review "Endo is a consummate writer who, as a master photographer, brings intensesentiment, character, and movement out of the subtle light and shadows thathe focuses around his subject..." —Choice "...characterized by simple language, but reveals a profound perceptivity.The translation by Richard Schuchert deserves a special commendation." —Roanoke Time & World-News †