Hirado

Hirado is a port town on the western coast of Kyushu, Japan, that functions in the novel as a geographical and symbolic marker of the trajectory of Christian mission in the country. It is a place where the early promise of the mission, the subsequent persecution, and the ultimate failure of Christianity to adapt to Japan are all refracted through the experiences of the characters and the reflections of the authorities.

Historical and Missionary Significance

Hirado was one of the first ports opened to Portuguese trade and missionary activity. The novel recalls that the great Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier passed through Hirado on his way to other parts of Japan. The town was a site of early success for the mission, where churches were built and the faith seemed to flourish. The interpreter who interrogates Rodrigues recalls that the Portuguese fathers built seminaries in Arima, Amakusa, and Omura, and that he himself was baptised and educated in one of them, though he claims he never intended to become a Christian. This history makes Hirado a symbol of the initial period when Christianity appeared to be taking root in Japan, a time when the missionaries were welcomed and the faith spread rapidly.

A Site of Separation and Persecution

After the martyrdom of Mokichi and Ichizo, and the subsequent search of the mountains by the guards, Rodrigues and Garrpe decide to separate to increase their chances of survival. Garrpe is sent in the direction of Hirado, while Rodrigues heads toward the Goto Islands. This separation marks a turning point in the novel, as the two priests, who had been each other's sole support, are now isolated. Hirado is thus the destination for one of the last remaining priests in Japan, a place where he will continue his underground work until his eventual capture. The town is also the site of Inoue's official business; when he meets Rodrigues for the second time, he mentions that he has been in Hirado, explaining his absence from the interrogation.

Inoue's Parable of the 'Ugly Woman'

Inoue uses Hirado as the setting for a parable that encapsulates his view of Japan's relationship with foreign powers, including Christianity. He tells Rodrigues a story about Takenobu Matsuura of Hirado, who had four concubines who constantly quarreled out of jealousy. Unable to bear it, Matsuura expelled all four from his castle. Inoue then draws a direct parallel: 'Hirado, and indeed our whole Japan, is just like Matsuura.' He compares Spain, Portugal, Holland, and England to the jealous women whispering slander into the ear of 'the man called Japan.' The parable argues that Japan, like Matsuura, should reject all foreign suitors and instead be united with a woman born in the same country, one who has sympathy for its way of thinking. This metaphor frames Christianity as an unwanted, persistent foreign influence that Japan must expel to maintain its integrity.

Symbol of the 'Swamp of Japan'

Hirado, like the rest of Japan, is ultimately part of the 'swamp' that Ferreira and Inoue describe as incapable of sustaining Christianity. The interpreter who was educated in the seminary at Hirado later becomes a bitter opponent of the faith, embodying the failure of the mission to create lasting converts. The town's history of initial openness followed by complete rejection mirrors the novel's central thesis: that Christianity, as a foreign plant, cannot survive in the Japanese soil. Inoue's final assertion that 'the root is cut, the sapling withers and the leaves die' applies directly to places like Hirado, where the once-thriving Christian community has been eradicated, and the God worshipped by the remaining crypto-Christians has been so transformed as to be no longer the Christian God at all.