Although a century and a half of Christian proselytizing has only led to the conversion of about one percent of the Japanese population, the proportion of writers who have either been baptized or significantly influenced in their work by Christian teachings is much higher. The seventeen authors examined in this volume have all employed themes and imagery in their writings influenced by Christian teachings. Those writing between the 1880s and the start of World War II were largely drawn to the Protestant emphasis on individual freedom, though many of them eventually rejected sectarian affiliation. Since 1945, on the other hand, Catholicism has produced a number of religiously committed authors, led by figures such as Endo Shusaku, the most popular and influential Christian writer in Japan to date. The authors discussed in these essays have contributed in a variety of ways to the indigenization of the imported religion.

Mark Williams is Vice President at International Christian University in Tokyo. Until 2017, he was Professor of Japanese Studies and Chair of the School of Modern Languages at the University of Leeds, UK. He is the translator of two novels by Endo Shusaku. In 2017, he received a Commendation from the from the Foreign Minister of Japan.

Van C. Gessel is Professor Emeritus of Japanese at Brigham Young University. He has translated eight literary works by Endo Shusaku. He was literary consultant for Martin Scorsese during the production of the film adaptation of Endo’s Chinmoku (Silence). In 2018 he was inducted into the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese emperor.

Yamane Michihiro is Professor at Notre Dame Seishin Women’s University. He has published widely on Endo Shusaku, Yagi Jukichi, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Miyazawa Kenji, and others. He was closely involved in the publication of the 15-volume Collected Works of Endo Shusaku and was in charge of editing the 11-volume Selected Works of Inoue Yoji.

1.Prophet of the Inner Life: Kitamura T.koku (Michael Brownstein); 2. Shimazaki T.son and Christianity: When the Cherries Ripen in the Taish. Period (Irina Holca); 3. Arishima Takeo and Christianity (Leith Morton); 4. Akutagawa Ry.nosuke: A Christian Life (Miyasaka Satoru; trans. Mark Williams); 5. Incarnation of the Christian Faith in the Poetry of Yagi J.kichi (Yamane Michihiro, trans. Mark Williams); 6. Hori Tatsuo: The Cross Dyed in Bloody Red and the Little Gods of Ancient Times (Massimiliano Tomasi); 7. Nagai Takashi on Divine Providence and Christian Self-Surrender: Towards a New Understanding of hansai (Anthony Haynes); 8. Dazai Osamu: His Wrestle with the Bible (Nagahama Takuma, trans. Van C. Gessel); 9. Shiina Rinz.: His Two Visages (Nagahama Takuma, trans. Van C. Gessel); 10. From out of the Depths: Shimao Toshio’s Literary Response to Adversity (Mark Williams); 11. Yasuoka Sh.tar. and Christianity: From Postwar “Emptiness” to Religious Longing (Yamane Ibuki, trans. Van C. Gessel); 12. Miura Ayako and the Human Face of Faith (Philip Gabriel); 13. End. Sh.saku and the Compassionate Companionship of Christ (Van C. Gessel); 14. Ogawa Kunio: Renewal of Faith and Identity in his Seishomono (Bible Stories) (Ryota Sakurai); 15. Kaga Otohiko: In Search of What Lies Beyond Death (Imai Mari, trans. Van C. Gessel); 16. Sono Ayako: Amor Vincit Omnia (Kevin Doak); 17. Takahashi Takako: Drawing Closer to God Through Literature (Miho Sekino).