Endo’s Deep River opens up an unsettling encounter with the spiritual vision of India described through the experience of five Japanese travelers from vastly different backgrounds each of whom faces a troubling personal crisis. By exploring the depth of the human need to understand ourselves and our purpose in life, Endo illuminates his appreciation of the workings of grace from a God present in the sufferings of humanity. Endo delves deep into the human condition through his characters that reflect the complex individuals and personalities we are.
Endo examines the moral dilemmas facing each character and portrays a clear picture of the river and its deep significance. With the purpose of touring Buddhist temples in India, five characters on a spiritual quest congregate on the banks of the River Ganges where they seek rejuvenation. Endo calls this the “deep river” (Endo 195). Five Japanese travelers express their individual stories of suffering and searching while at the deep river. Each of the characters- Isobe, Kiguchi, Numada, Mitsuko, and Otsu- differ in their past and their views, while each feels incomplete in one way or another. With hope of finding where they belong through spiritual truth, their journey to the River Ganges echoes the powerful exploration of faith towards which Endo pushes the reader, through use of motif and allegorical pattern. This identification of the river as a destination of human consciousness turns out to be more than merely a personal symbol. The river tends to perform a function for each character where the human mind seeks acceptance and a sense of belonging.
The extent of this river imagery becomes particularly moving as a powerful symbol of cultural difference and personal weakne...
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...p meaning for these five tourists. Though Endo’s Deep River deals with concerns of faith and God and of sin and infidelity, it seems to focus greatly on the depth of the spirituality each character is seeking to fill the void in their lives. The picture of the Ganges that Endo paints is one of a lushness of life, filled with the Onion, with God, with gods and goddesses, and where the waters carry filth and decay, yet its depths offer personal consolation and spiritual uplifting. We are left to wonder if this deep river truly is sacred and may, indeed, purify our souls and our hearts.
Works Cited
Endo, Shusaku. Deep River. Trans. Van C. Gessel. New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1994.
Mase-Hasegawa, Emi. Christ in Japanese Culture: Theological Themes in Shusaku Endo’s Literary Works. The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers, 2008.
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