Silence is a 1966 novel of theological and historical fiction by Japanese author Shūsaku Endō. It tells the story of a Jesuit missionary sent to 17th-century Japan, who endures persecution in the time of Kakure Kirishitan ("Hidden Christians") that followed the defeat of the Shimabara Rebellion. The recipient of the 1966 Tanizaki Prize, it has been called "Endō's supreme achievement" and "one of t... Wikipedia