Rodrigues-Mokichi relationship

The relationship between Sebastian Rodrigues and Mokichi, a young Christian peasant of Tomogi, is one of the deepest bonds the priest forms in Japan, defined by Mokichi's unwavering faith, his role as a guide and protector, and his ultimate martyrdom, which shatters Rodrigues' romanticized vision of martyrdom and forces him to confront the silence of God.

Identity and First Encounters

Mokichi is introduced as a young man from the fishing village of Tomogi, a community of about two hundred households where the majority had already received baptism. He is one of the first Christians to meet Rodrigues and Francisco Garrpe upon their arrival, guiding them to a charcoal hut in the mountains for safety. From the beginning, Mokichi acts as a crucial intermediary, explaining the dire situation: the Christians had been without a priest or brother for six years, since the deaths of a Japanese priest and a Jesuit brother in 1633. He describes the secret organization the villagers had created to keep their faith alive, with a Jiisama performing baptisms and Tossama teaching catechism, a system that deeply moves Rodrigues, who recalls the Gospel parable of the seed that falls on good ground and brings forth fruit a hundredfold. Mokichi's face, like those of the other Christians, is expressionless, a mask born from long years of secrecy, a detail that fills Rodrigues with a bitter sadness.

Guide and Protector

Mokichi becomes Rodrigues' most trusted guide and protector. He is part of the group that digs a secret hiding place under the floor of the hut in case of emergency. When Rodrigues returns from his successful mission to the Goto Islands, it is Mokichi who rushes to the shore to warn him that government officials are ransacking Tomogi, urging him to flee. During the crisis following the arrest of the Jiisama, when the village is split between those who want to shelter the priests and those who blame them for the trouble, Mokichi, along with Ichizo and Omatsu, displays an unwavering faith, declaring they will protect the priests no matter what. When the officials demand three hostages to be sent to Nagasaki, and the terrified villagers debate who should go, it is Mokichi who volunteers to join Ichizo and the reluctant Kichijiro, a decision that seals his fate.

The Agony of Choice and Martyrdom

Before departing, Mokichi, head hanging, asks Rodrigues a devastating question: if they are ordered to trample on the fumie, what should they do, knowing that refusal will bring cross-examination upon the entire village. In a moment of weakness that he immediately regrets, Rodrigues shouts, "Trample! Trample!" — words he knows should never have been spoken. At the magistrate's office in Sakuradai, Mokichi, Ichizo, and Kichijiro are ordered to trample on the fumie. Following Rodrigues' advice, Kichijiro does so, but the officials, noticing the expressions on their faces, are not fooled. They are then ordered to spit on the crucifix and declare the Virgin a whore. Mokichi and Ichizo cannot do it; a white tear overflows from Mokichi's eye, and he finally confesses openly that he is a Christian. They are imprisoned for ten days, while Kichijiro, who gasps out the required blasphemy, is set free.

Rodrigues and Garrpe watch from their mountain hut as Mokichi and Ichizo are subjected to the water punishment on the beach of Tomogi. They are fastened to two stakes at the water's edge, where the incoming tide will immerse them up to their chins. The plan is for a prolonged, agonizing death over two or three days, meant to terrify the other villagers. Omatsu and her niece bring food, but Mokichi, wanting to escape the torment quickly, refuses to eat, telling her to give it to Ichizo. As night falls, the people of Tomogi hear Mokichi's voice, gasping out a Christian hymn: "We're on our way, we're on our way to the temple of Paradise." The next day, the moaning continues, sometimes ceasing, then returning like the sound of an animal. The tide comes in again, and the stakes seem to sink into the black, cold sea. They are martyred, but Rodrigues is horrified by the reality: it is not a glorious spectacle of angels and trumpets, but a miserable, painful business, with rain falling unceasingly on a silent sea.

The Silence of God and Rodrigues' Crisis

Mokichi's death is the pivotal event that breaks Rodrigues' spirit. He cannot bear the monotonous sound of the dark sea gnawing at the shore, which he interprets as the silence of God. The memory of Mokichi's exhausted song gnaws constantly at his heart. He realizes that the martyrdom of these Japanese peasants was no glorious dream, but a wretched reality. The question Kichijiro had asked — "Why has Deus Sama given us this trial?" — now pierces Rodrigues' breast with the pain of a sharp needle, becoming the problem of God's silence in the face of terrible and merciless sacrifice. The sea that killed Mokichi and Ichizo surges on uncannily in silence, and behind that depressing silence, Rodrigues feels the silence of God, who remains with folded arms while men raise their voices in anguish. This experience fundamentally alters his faith, leading him to question the very meaning of his mission and his God, a crisis that ultimately makes him vulnerable to the arguments of the apostate Ferreira and the torture of the pit.