The Relationship Between Japanese Idea of Honor and Ultimate Christian Sacrifice As Seen in the Moral Message of Ayako Miura's

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THE UNCOMPROMISING CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP OF NOBUO NAGANO IN AYAKO MIURA’S SHIOKARI PASS

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

AGATHON HUTAMA

Student Number: 054214008

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2011

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THE UNCOMPROMISING CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP OF NOBUO NAGANO IN AYAKO MIURA’S SHIOKARI PASS

AGATHON HUTAMA

Student Number: 054214008

Approved by

Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum. Advisor December 14, 2010

Tatang Iskarna, S.S., M.Hum. Co-Advisor December 14, 2010

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A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

THE UNCOMPROMISING CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP OF NOBUO NAGANO IN AYAKO MIURA’S SHIOKARI PASS

AGATHON HUTAMA

Student Number : 054214008

Defended before the Board of Examiners on January 26, 2011 and Declared Acceptable

BOARD OF EXAMINERS

Name Signature

Chairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A. ………………………

Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. ………………………

Member : Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. ………………………

Member : Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum. ………………………

Member : Tatang Iskarna, S.S., M.Hum. ………………………

Yogyakarta, January 31, 2011. Faculty of Letters Sanata Dharma University Dean

Dr. Praptomo Baryadi Isodarus, M.Hum.

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Perfection, I believe, we forever cannot achieve, but we can still always be almost perfect after all.

– Mas Aga

“Mind your meal, it should be empat sehat lima Sampoerna; if you smoke, though.

If you don’t, don’t start.”

[email protected] [email protected]

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:

Nama : Agathon Hutama Nomor Mahasiswa : 054214008

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

THE UNCOMPROMISING CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP OF NOBUO NAGANO IN AYAKO MIURA’S SHIOKARI PASS beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini, yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal : 1 Maret 2011

Yang menyatakan

Agathon Hutama

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To be honest, I am a little bit late to finish this undergraduate thesis. It is because there were so many temptations that demanded more of my time, so that focusing on writing this study seemed to have become my priority no more.

Anyway, here it is; the non-fiction work that I have finished, finally.

I use as the object of this study a Japanese novel entitled Shiokari Pass.

Unfortunately, because I failed to find any studies conducted by other people in order to provide me insights for working on my own, I had to rely on sources of the related studies of the issues seen in the novel. Therefore, I thank you very much, the library of Sanata Dharma University, whose collection of books is vast and among them I could find references that I needed (including few that had never been borrowed since the late twentieth century until I did).

I also would like to express my deepest gratitude to the goodfellas in campus who never gave up supporting me, namely Doni, Fred, Bayu, Anto, Trimbil,

Nopek, Karlina, Decy, Estu, Danu and the big family of Teater Seriboe Djendela:

Mas Yoga, Mas Kumis, Bang Onal, Mico, Tije, Gedhek, Egi, Eli, Evi, Dian,

Helga, Via, Padmo and many more friends whom I cannot mention here one by one because the list will be so long like history, hyperbolically saying.

For my advisor, Mrs. Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum., I am sorry for my bad habit of writing confusing inductive paragraphs yet I owe you a lot in the whole process of doing this undergraduate thesis. Also, Mr. Tatang Iskarna, S.S.,

M.Hum., thank you for our discussing about the sacrifice of Christ and how it differs from sacrifice of man. That moment is the most memorable moment of my

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thesis consultation with you. For Mrs. Dewi Widyastuti S.Pd., M.Hum., thank you for your criticism and advice on the theory of character development used in this study and for reminding me the right format of the thesis layout. For all of you dear lecturers, I also thank you for the knowledge you have shared in your classes that I attended semesters ago. God bless you all.

For both my beloved parents, Bu Anastasia Tri Widihati and Pak F.X. Giarso, thank you for all the unconditional love that I have received since I was born. Let us celebrate my graduation, alright? My kinsmen from both clans, the Dimars and

Pringgo Pudiyantos, thank you so much for your supports, advices, and prayers.

Above all, I thank you my Jesus Christ, whom I believe will always accompany me in all the moments of my life. Praise be to Thou forever and ever.

Amen.

Agathon Hutama

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE ……………………………………………………………….. i APPROVAL PAGE ……………………………………………………….... ii ACCEPTANCE PAGE …………………………………………………….. iii MOTTO PAGE …………………………………………………………….. iv DEDICATION PAGE ……………………………………………………... v LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN ……………………………. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………….. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………….. ix ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………... xi ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………….. xii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION …………………………………………. 1 A. Background …………………………………………………………... 1 B. Problem Formulations ………………………………………………... 7 C. Objectives of the Study ………………………………………………. 8 D. Definition of Terms …………………………………………………... 9

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ……………………………… 11 A. Review of Related Studies …………………………………………… 11 1. Honor in Japanese Society ………………………………………... 11 2. The Polemic of Christianity in Japan …………………………….. 12

B. Review of Related Theories ………………………………………….. 19 1. Theory of Character and Characterization ……………………… 19 2. Theory of Christian Discipleship …………………………………. 21 3. View on Choice …………………………………………………... 26 4. View on Courage………………………………………………….. 27 5. View on Death ……………………………………………………. 27 6. View on Righteousness …………………………………………... 29

C. Theoretical Framework ………………………………………………... 30

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ………………………………………. 33 A. Object of the Study …………………………………………………... 33 B. Approach of the Study ……………………………………………….. 36 C. Method of the Study ………………………………………………….. 37

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ……………………………………………….. 39 A. The Characterization of Nobuo Nagano in Shiokari Pass …………… 39 B. Nobuo’s Process to His Christian Conversion ………………………… 44 1. Rejection………………………………………………………….. 45 a. Grandmother’s Influence……………………………………… 46 b. Disappointment towards Mother……………………………… 48

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2. Compromise………………………………………………………. 50 a. Kiku’s Return and Different Perspective of Nobuo towards Christianity …………………………………………………… 52 b. Osamu Yoshikawa’s Influence towards Nobuo’s Sense of Righteousness ………………………………………………… 55 c. Nobuo’s Anxiousness towards Death………………………… 61 d. Nobuo’s ‘Unconscious’ Actualization of Christian Values …... 66 3. Conversion and the ‘Conscious’ Actualization of Christian Faith .. 70

C. The Uncompromising Christian Discipleship of Nobuo Nagano……. 86 1. Nobuo’s Courage in Actualizing His Faith ………………………. 93 2. Nobuo’s Faith in Christ as a Costly Grace ……………………….. 97 3. Single-Minded Obedience in Nobuo’s Actualization of His Christian Faith…………………………………………………….. 102

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION …………………………………………… 107

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………... 112

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ABSTRACT

AGATHON HUTAMA. The Uncompromising Christian Discipleship of Nobuo Nagano in Ayako Miura’s Shiokari Pass. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2010.

A Roman poet, Horace, said that literature should be delightful and instructive. His words still find significance today, for it can be found in every literary work of all genres – prose, poetry and drama – a message implied by the author, which is intended to be grasped by the reader. This undergraduate thesis uses as the object of study a Japanese novel, written by Ayako Miura, entitled Shiokari Pass. It was written based on the life accounts of a real person named Masao Nagano whom the author fictionalized as Nobuo Nagano, who became the main character of the novel. The author’s flair to retouch the true story with her literary creativity has made her fiction an enjoyable stuff to read. This is the delightful side of her work. The instructive side can be found in the message implied in her work, seen through the story line and the development of the main character of the novel. There are two objectives to be attained in this study. The first one is to show that the actualization of Christian faith of the main character can be seen through its development. The second objective deals with main character’s actualization of Christian faith through which a form of uncompromising Christian discipleship can be identified. The writer used library research in this study to get most references necessary in this study, while the approach applied here is the moral-philosophical approach. Meanwhile, the analyses are sequenced into, first, examining main character’s development to reveal the process of his conversion to Christianity and, second, elaborating the findings in the first problem formulation to show that the main character’s actualization of Christian faith reflects the description of uncompromising Christian discipleship. The answer for the first problem formulation is that the development of the main character results in two phases which are ‘unconscious’ and ‘conscious’ actualization of Christian faith. ‘Unconscious,’ because the main character had had an antipathy towards Christian religion before his conversion yet with the influences of people around him the main character was motivated to do things he had not yet realized as the ones having Christian values. Although he still saw no need to be converted to Christianity, the ‘unconscious’ actualization served as a firm foundation for his conversion, though. When he was finally converted into Christianity, he realized that it was for God and not for himself that he did remarkable things. This is a ‘conscious’ phase, marked with the main character’s enlightenment that he was a sinner, and would always be. It was by following the way of Christ that a sinner could be justified. With this consideration, he became a devout Christian who absolutely obeyed the words of God written in the scripture. He did not hesitate when he thought it necessary to sacrifice his own life for others, just as Christ did. It is thus a form of uncompromising Christian discipleship and the answer of second problem formulation.

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ABSTRAK

Menurut Horace, seorang penyair Romawi, alangkah baiknya jika sastra adalah sesuatu yang indah dan bermanfaat. Pendapatnya saat ini masih signifikan karena di setiap jenis karya sastra – prosa, puisi, dan drama – terdapat pesan yang disampaikan secara tidak langsung oleh pengarang untuk ditangkap oleh pembaca. Skripsi ini menggunakan novel Jepang karya Ayako Miura berjudul Shiokari Pass. Novel tersebut ditulis berdasarkan kisah nyata seseorang bernama Masao Nagano, yang oleh pengarang difiksikan menjadi Nobuo Nagano, tokoh utama novel. Kemampuan pengarang dalam memberi sentuhan pada kisah nyata tersebut dengan kreativitas dalam berkarya sastra telah menjadikan kisah fiksi yang ditulisnya menarik untuk dibaca. Inilah sisi keindahan karyanya. Sisi manfaat terlihat pada pesan yang terkandung dalam karyanya, yang tampak pada alur cerita dan perkembangan karakter tokoh utama. Ada dua tujuan yang hendak dicapai dalam penelitian ini. Tujuan pertama adalah untuk menunjukkan bahwa pengaktualisasian iman Kristiani tokoh utama dapat diamati dari perkembangan karakternya. Tujuan kedua terkait dengan pengaktualisasian iman tersebut, yang melaluinya dapat dilihat sebuah bentuk kerasulan Kristiani yang teguh. Penulis melakukan studi pustaka di perpustakaan untuk mendapatkan sebagian besar sumber. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah pendekatan moral-filosofis. Sementara itu, urutan pembahasan adalah sebagai berikut: Pertama, melihat perkembangan karakter tokoh utama untuk mengetahui proses yang dilaluinya untuk menjadi seorang Kristen. Kedua, apa yang didapat pada analisis sebelumnya dikembangkan lagi untuk menunjukkan bahwa aktualisasi iman Kristiani tokoh utama mencerminkan gambaran kerasulan Kristiani yang teguh. Jawaban dari rumusan masalah pertama adalah ditemukannya dua tahap aktualisasi iman Kristiani yaitu ‘tidak sadar’ dan ‘sadar.’ ‘Tidak sadar,’ karena sebelum ia dibaptis, si tokoh utama adalah orang yang anti terhadap agama Kristen. Namun orang-orang di sekitarnya memberikan pengaruh kepadanya dan membuatnya melakukan hal-hal yang tanpa disadarinya memuat nilai-nilai Kristiani. Walau ia merasa tidak perlu menjadi seorang Kristen, namun tindakannya itu telah menjadi dasar yang kuat untuk imannya. Saat ia akhirnya menjadi seorang Kristen, ia menyadari bahwa untuk Tuhanlah ia melakukan hal- hal baik, bukan untuk dirinya sendiri. Inilah tahap ‘sadar,’ yang ditandai dengan tercerahkannya tokoh utama bahwa ia adalah, dan akan selalu menjadi, pendosa. Hanya dengan mengikuti Kristus sajalah pendosa akan dibenarkan. Dengan kesadaran ini, ia menjadi seorang Kristen yang taat pada sabda Allah di Kitab Suci. Ia tak ragu untuk memberikan nyawa demi keselamatan orang lain seperti yang dilakukan Kristus, saat ia merasa tindakan itu diperlukan. Dengan demikian, aktualisasi iman Kristianinya adalah sebuah perwujudan kerasulan Kristiani yang teguh dan terjawablah sudah rumusan masalah yang kedua.

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background

A literary work is a vehicle to deliver certain messages to the reader, as the

Roman poet Horace said about literature as a delightful and instructive thing

(Guerin et al., 1999: 25). This is to say that every form of literature communicates something; even encourages its readers to pay a full attention to what it conveys, so that reading activity can be worth something; not merely an ephemera.

Enjoyment in reading, in accordance to what Horace said, is not temporal but one that can last for days, months, and even years after. How then can such amusement last? It is by finding something inside the book having the utmost significance and being applicable in everyday life.

In a literary work, a message covers either moral or philosophical value, or both of them. There are literary works written purposefully to make the readers aware of moral and philosophical issues implied in the story and share the authors‟ perspectives towards them as seen in the messages. One subject that belongs to both morality and philosophy having been so widely explored, ranging from antiquity to contemporary literary traditions in all genres – drama, prose, poetry – is religion.

In morality scope, religion is on one hand the spiritual guidance to live life within its capacity to connect a person with God whom a religious person reveres at the utmost and on the other hand to conduct all the actions of someone in the

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world. Religion reaches not only the spiritual but also the material world, as what a religious person has spiritually acquired, he or she will then perform it in real life; to apply the spiritual value into action. Thus, determining an action is morally accepted or not, it depends on whether the action meets the spiritual value of the religion or not. However, it is something subjective for every religion existing in this world when it comes to something moral or immoral, for not a few points of their teachings corresponds to each other‟s.

In philosophical scope, religion is open for questions over those intangible things it deals with, such as the questions over the paradox of the love of God to the world; over the fact that evil things like war, murder, persecution continuously happen and, still, God does nothing to stop them while He is addressed as the God of goodness and love who will never let His people suffer. Terrorism, committed in the name of God, is another motion for philosophical debate. Does religion debauch men, or is it abused?

The writer deliberately points out to such philosophical question above; to the question over the contradiction between God‟s love and human suffering. It is, though, suggested by the writer not to immediately link the question to the topic of this study. It is merely an overture to the smaller scope that this study takes as topic: the uncompromising discipleship. Specifically again, this is the uncompromising Christian discipleship.

Why did the writer choose this topic? The answer to this question is probably not a plain one but since the object of this study is a literary work, a novel, the writer saw that the novel communicated a message that touches both moral and

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philosophical spot. The novel, Shiokari Pass by Ayako Miura, focuses on the search for and exploration of the Christian faith by young Nobuo Nagano, its main character. One interesting fact is that the novel was written based on an actual event that in the same way communicated the same message like the one of the novel.

When a fiction is written, there can be only two possibilities. The author might have written a purely fictive, imaginative story which does not correspond to any actual events at all or it is a fact fictionalized into a work of literature that embodies a certain message which both the real story and the unreal one have in common. The message may lie on a certain event of the fact, which in the fiction it can be found in the exactly same happening. However, an author who writes fiction based on fact, like Mrs. Miura did, of course will not confine his or her creativity to retouch the fact in order to make it more enjoyable to read on one hand and on the other hand to express also the author‟s attitude towards the message of the true story which is intended to be grasped by the readers. At this point the author wants to share what he or she believes or makes him or her inspired to the readers, in the hope that they will feel the same the way the author does, for the author believes of the goodness implied in the message of the story.

This is wrapped by the saying of Horace presented at the beginning of this chapter. Literature can always entertain a soul but at the same time it should be able also to serve as something that inspires, if not enlightens, anyone who does the reading.

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The novel itself colorfully describes its setting of time and place, which is the early 20th century Japan, particularly the capital Tokyo and the northernmost large island of the country‟s four, Hokkaido. At that time it was what the historians call the Meiji Restoration, a period named after the reign name of Emperor Mutsuhito

(1852-1912) of Japan. His reign name „Meiji‟ means „enlightenment‟ and it was during that period Japan was for the first time open for the world beyond its borders after it had been isolated for about 200 years under Tokugawa Shogunate.

This era was marked not only by advances of the nation in technology, lifestyle and else introduced by Western world but also by the reformation in religious life, namely the religious tolerance indicated by the permit granted for reintroduction to Christianity.

Although the country had approved the missionaries to begin again their once broken effort to spread the Good News in Japan (the mainstream was not

Catholicism like the first mission but instead American Protestantism), it was not guaranteed that the religious tolerance was without discrimination. In the novel it can be found that Japanese society at that time still believed that Japan needed not

„imported‟ religions.

Shusaku Endo in his novel Silence (1966) described the earlier missionary work in Japan that ended in the Church of Japan became underground Church because of persecutions started by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598), the predecessor of Tokugawa shoguns, and continued by the latter. A quote from the translator‟s preface of Endo‟s novel analogizes Japan as “a swamp because it

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sucks up all sorts of ideologies, transforming them into itself and distorting them in the process.” (Endo, 1966: 13)

Not surprising it was that when Western influences penetrated Japan, it only took the ones considered advantageous, especially goods and guns. As for missionary works, for the sake of „secular‟ things they were tolerated but still to a certain extent they could not proceed any further. In 1614, the edict of expulsion was issued by Tokugawa Ieyasu, declaring that missionary work could not continue because it might disturb the country‟s stability as the „Kirishitan‟ first gave their obedience neither to their ancestors nor their rulers but to their foreign guides (Endo, 1966: 6). Since then, persecutions had taken place. The 1614 decree runs as follows:

The Kirishitan (Christian) band have come to Japan, not only sending their merchant vessels to exchange commodities, but also longing to disseminate an evil law, to overthrow true doctrine, so that they may change the government of the country and obtain possession of the land. This is the germ of great disaster, and must be crushed (Neill, 1975:160).

As stated above, in the novel the attitude of Japanese people of the Restoration era was, at large, still the same with before the Restoration. The fact that

Christianity was a religion imported from the West was the reason why Meiji people still held old prejudices upon Christian religion. Christianity, according to

Confucius scholar Yasui Sokken, had the potential to disturb the society of Japan and its form of government. (Ion, 2009:5)

Such reason may be acceptable, for at that time the national unity of Japan was the first priority of the Meiji government in order to maintain its stability so that in

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its effort to renew the face of the country into a modern one, Japanese identity would not be relinquished. To make it so, Meiji lawmakers had promulgated the law that made the Emperor of Japan a „sacred and inviolable‟ figure, and therefore was not responsible for any acts of his ministers. He served not as the head of state but a sacred symbol of national unity instead. (Benedict, 1974:125)

Ayako Miura‟s Shiokari Pass highlighted the era of Meiji Japan, when

Christianity was seen as a wicked thing. Christians were discriminated and many of them were disowned because of their attachments to the faith. Miura‟s focus, however, is the Christian discipleship of its main character, Nobuo Nagano, who was converted to Christian faith after having been since his childhood nurtured a resistant attitude against it. It was because of his grandmother‟s influence and his own disappointment due to his feeling of being abandoned by his mother in his infancy; that he regarded Christianity and Christians as something hateful.

God yet has His own design for Nobuo Nagano. Even since was a child,

Christian values had been penetrating him along with his growing sense of responsibility of his. The people who were close to him helped build his character and it developed into one which embodied Christian virtues.

After his conversion to Christianity, Nobuo was not a „safety player.‟ He considered his baptism as the grace of God and he kept telling to his fellow

Christians that it was, if necessary, an obligation to give life for Christ. (Miura,

2000:254) This attitude of Nobuo Nagano meets the idea of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian whom the NAZI put to death in 1945 because he disobeyed the order to vow loyalty to Hitler and ran theological school undercover. His main

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concern of the book he wrote in prison was about „easy Christianity‟ and in his book The Cost of Discipleship he emphasized on what Jesus Christ said about the world which resents Him and His disciples. Bonhoeffer talked about the risk of being Christ‟s followers.

In this study, Dietrich Bonhoeffer‟s conception of Christian discipleship is indispensable; meaning that in the analysis it will play a great part for the problems of this study mainly stresses on the Christian discipleship of Nobuo

Nagano. Both he and Bonhoeffer were like a sheep in the wolves‟ lair. They lived in the same situation that was unhealthy for Christian faith and in such a time and place they had the confidence that their faith in Christ would support them in the most perilous moments.

B. Problem Formulation

The problems the writer found were related to the life of the main character that portrays his deeds which construct the whole story and to the ideas of

Dietrich Bonhoeffer that scrutinizes Christian discipleship and criticizes those who half-heartedly actualize their Christian faith. There are three problems to be thoroughly analyzed in this study.

1. How is the main character in the novel characterized?

2. How did the main character undergo the process to find his Christian faith?

3. How can the actualization of Christian faith in the main character‟s life be

regarded as a form of uncompromising Christian discipleship?

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C. Objectives of the Study

The first objective of this study is all about seeing the main character of the novel the way he is characterized. It is necessary to have an intrinsic analysis so that there will be a strong foundation for the further analysis of the main character when he is confronted with the topic this study takes. The analysis of the first problem formulation will highlight the qualities of the main character which is obtainable via reading the novel, but most especially his characteristics. Why characteristics? It is because the next problem formulation is based on the findings of the first one. No-one can investigate something without evidences which, in this study, can be collected from the work analyzed.

The second objective of this study is to show the process of the main character to find his Christian faith. From the previous problem formulation, there are characteristics of the main character that help structure the whole odyssey of the main character from being an unbeliever to becoming a believer. There are two phases of the process itself; both of them point out to the actualization of Christian faith. The writer‟s terms for the phases are the „unconscious‟ and the „conscious.‟

The former phase comprises the main character‟s faith development from rejecting Christianity to compromising with its values and latter phase the episode after the baptism of the main character, in which he actualized his faith as a

Christian.

Finally, the third objective is to show that the actualization of faith of the main character is a distinctive one that excludes the main character from other

Christians in the novel. There are things which distinguish the main character‟s

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Christian faith that makes it worthy to be called an uncompromising Christian discipleship. For this analysis the writer employed Bonhoeffer‟s ideas compiled in a book entitled The Cost of Discipleship. In this book, written during his internment in a NAZI concentration camp, Bonhoeffer talked about the cost of following Christ as well as the reward for those who could hold on to Him.

Christian discipleship was never an easy thing, so Bonhoeffer said, and Christ had also warned about this. Yet for those who knew the reason of following Christ, it would not be disappointing, for salvation awaited the faithful ones. Bonhoeffer emphasized the „unpleasant‟ conditions of Christian discipleship, though, which in

Ayako Miura‟s novel is very apparent in its main character‟s actualization of

Christian faith.

D. Definition of Terms

The terms used in this study were all taken from The Cost of Discipleship,

the book written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer considered by the writer to have great

weight in this study. Also, the book‟s main idea is the one to which the topic

of this study refers. There are three terms used; all of which are taken from

The Cost of Discipleship. They are:

1. costly grace: a call to follow Christ in a form of discipleship; leaving all in

possession for Christ‟s sake and it is like a treasure hidden in the field; the

gospel that must be sought again and again

(Bonhoeffer, 1963: 47, 49)

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2. Christian discipleship: an exclusive attachment to Christ whose grace of

call bursts all the bounds of legalism

(Bonhoeffer, 1963: 63)

3. single-minded obedience: the condition of free from any anxiety in the

course of following Christ and His commandments

(Bonhoeffer, 1963: 89)

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CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW

A. Review of Related Studies

1. Honor in Japanese Society

This is the study of patterns of Japanese life found in Chrysanthemum and the

Sword by Ruth Benedict. The book provides a sociological study of the Japanese people that highlights their patterns of thought. This book particularizes its scope of research at the era of prewar Japan.

In this book information about Japanese attitudes, ways of thinking, and their world view can be retrieved. From this book the writer quotes the discussion related to personal honor for Japanese people. To maintain good reputation, a

Japanese first has to observe whether or not he has fulfilled a duty called giri to one‟s name. This is the very foundation and the most essential thing when one is to be called a real person of honor.

Giri to one‟s name is the duty to keep one‟s reputation unspotted. It is a series of virtues – some of which seem to an Occidental to be opposites. They are those acts which keep one‟s reputation bright without reference to a specific indebtedness to another person. They include therefore maintaining all the miscellaneous etiquette requirements of „proper station,‟ showing stoicism in pain and defending one‟s reputation in profession or craft (Benedict, 1974:145).

Japan‟s militaristic tradition is old and, until its defeat in the World War II, it had been militarily active. Thus, the virtues that Japanese people must observe can be said to have similarities with the ways of a soldier. The quotation above, it talks about stoicism in pain. This is a worldwide knowledge on Japanese culture;

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an extraordinary tradition despite its cruelness. The seppuku, an act of committing suicide by mean of disembowelment, is an alternative that has the effect of recovery for a wounded personal honor. Western opinion may regard it as an act of cowardice or desperation, but this is not at all about taking shortcut. This is a matter of chivalry.

Giri to one‟s name also demands acts which remove a slur or an insult; the slur darkens one‟s good name and should be got rid of. It may be necessary to take vengeance upon one‟s detractor or it may be necessary to commit suicide, and there are all sorts of possible courses of action between these two extremes (Benedict, 1974:145).

The importance of honor for Japanese people is, indeed, a crucial matter.

Rather than living in shame, it is better to die an honorable death. Suicide is an accepted way to remove all blemishes and restore the honor. There are, of course, accounts of great men committing suicide by disembowelment that serve as reminders for others not to neglect the duty called giri to one‟s name.

2. The Polemic of Christianity in Japan

Today, Christians encompass 4% of the total population of Japan. Two-thirds of them are Protestants and the rest are Roman Catholics. (Cybriwsky, Roman A., et al. Microsoft® Student 2008 [DVD]) Since Japan now is a secular country, especially after the World War II when the Emperor of Japan resigned from his role as a Shinto deity and became ordinary man, religion is no longer the affair of state.

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Not until the end of World War II, though, did Japanese government leave

Japanese people to perform their religious activities without control from above.

The authoritarian rule of Tokugawa Shogunate exercised a strict control over religious life and this policy was continued by its successor, the Meiji government. The control was actually to limit the threat to the morale and, ultimately, the nation of Japan which the two governments believed came from one source: Christianity.

Arai Hakuseki, a Tokugawa philosopher, implied his opinion towards

Christianity in his writing about the incompatibility of the religion with Tokugawa

Japan‟s bakuhan state and social order. In Hakuseki‟s point of view, rests the argument that state authority would not be accomplished unless there were controls over territorial integrity and political stability. Such controls were necessary in order to dodge foreign threats and one thing that could be done was to control the spiritual and religious lives of the people, allowing only beliefs suitable with the socio-political culture. (Ion, 2009:4) Another scholar, Yasui

Sokken, commented on Christianity in the same flavor Hakuseki did. He argued that Western religion (Christianity) threatened to disturb Japanese society and its form of government. It was based on, as Robert Bellah has shown, the knowledge that the Japanese emperor was the one to whom loyalty at all levels was expected.

(Ion, 2009:5) Benedict wrote that

The emperor had to be a Sacred Father removed from all secular considerations. A man‟s fealty to him, chu, the supreme virtue, must become an ecstatic contemplation of a fantasied Good Father untainted by contacts with the world (Benedict, 1974:125).

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Christianity, on the other hand, does not recognize worship to a worldly object and this became a problem in Japan. Japanese Christians were seen as rebels, for they gave their loyalties to something else rather than the emperor.

The polemic itself came from Christianity as well. Since Christianity is considered a universal religion, the missionaries might have in their minds that it was unacceptable if in a certain place Christianity was not well-received and

Christians are treated hostilely. At least it can be seen in the rebuke of a foreign missionary when a number of Japanese Christians of Uragami was arrested.

Why does your country prohibit our Christianity? This religion is the very religion which is followed by millions and millions people in the world. I am now trying to spread this religion in Japan in order to let them serve the true path. Nevertheless your country is oppressing this religion. This is completely unreasonable (Kato, 1973:80).

It was the misunderstanding a very narrow perspective that belonged to the other side, possibly, that became one factor causing breach between Japan and

Christianity. Christianity was at first warmly accepted in Japan but it was not because of the peace sought by clan leaders, who was at war with each other when

Christianity was first introduced to Japan in the mid-16th century. It was because among missionaries there were traders who sell guns and ammunitions. The first successful mission of the Jesuits was in Kyushu, where the daimyo of Bungo and

Satsuma held their fiefs. They allowed the padres do their jobs and in return they were given priority to obtain more and better weapons than their neighbors

(Horner, 1948:80).

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There was yet another reason why early Christian mission was successful: there was a deep dislike towards Buddhism which was the religion of Japan (it is important to note that in Japan both Shinto and Buddhism affiliates, so that when someone says about „religion of Japan,‟ it can be either Shinto or Buddhism, for the term Shinto itself appeared only after the introduction of Buddhism, to distinguish it from the latter). Oda Nobunaga, one of the most prominent figures in Japanese civil war who respected the Jesuits because of their wide learning and courtesy and favored them for the sake of trade faced another enemy, the warrior monks of Buddhist Tendai sect who formed alliance with his enemies. Nobunaga fought them and gave a fatal blow to ensure their defeat. He burned the ancient and sacred monasteries of the sect in Mount Hiei.

When they saw that he intended to destroy the place both Emperor and Shogun as well as some of his own generals asked him to desist. But he took no notice of them, and on October 20, 1571, attacked and set fire to all the monasteries so that they were completely destroyed and nothing at all remained, while the monks without exception, with many fair ladies and children, who had little excuse for existing there, were brought before Nobunaga and put to death to the number of several thousands (Sadler, 1978:82).

Clear enough that Buddhist priests had already been down in spirituality, for they gave up their oath of celibacy and indulged themselves in the pleasure of flesh. Apart from other factors helping its early success, there had to be among

Christian converts who realized the meaning of their baptism. Seeing the degradation of morality in the Buddhist priests, they now put confidence in

Christian missionaries whose conducts agreed with their words.

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The breach started when Toyotomi Hideyoshi, chancellor of the empire after the civil war ended, issued the edict of expulsion in 1587. At that time there were already more or less 500,000 Christians in Japan (Neill, 1975:159).

Japan is a country of the Kami (the gods of Japan) and for the padres to come hither and preach a devilish law is a most reprehensible and evil thing...Since such a thing is intolerable, I am resolved that the padres should not stay on Japanese soil. I therefore order that having settled their affairs, within twenty days, they must return to their own country (Neill, 1975: 160).

During the next reign by the Tokugawa Shogunate, a decree was issued in

1614, declaring a ban to Christianity with severe punishment for anyone who preferred to retain the faith rather than renouncing it.

There are at least two incidents that led to the banning of Christianity. The first one was the affair of Landecho in Hideyoshi‟s time. Japan had a law that allowed it to confiscate any foreign ship swept ashore with whatever it carried. A certain

Spanish ship, San Felipe, had its cargo appropriated and its captain, Landecho, made a complaint. Enraged, he told Hideyoshi‟s envoy by telling the might of his

Spanish Sovereign and threatened that his king would dispatch his great army to

Japan for the missionaries were first sent to convert the Japanese into Christianity to smoothen the conquest. (Sadler, 1978:244) This is a miscalculated threat, of course, for Japanese people had their reason for fearing not the invasion from

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foreign lands. They had ever been almost invaded by the Mongolians when, by the help of, they believed, the wind kami or kami-kaze, the enemy‟s fleet was engulfed by raging sea storm. (Kato, 1973:52)

The second occurred during the Tokugawa rule, when a peasant revolt arised in

Shimabara, caused by merciless tax and oppression by the magistrate of Nagasaki.

The rebels carried banners with the inscription „Praise be the Most Holy

Sacrament,‟ and shouted the name of Jesus and Mary. Had it been crushed, the government then issued the sakoku (isolationism) policy in the late 1630s to keep away foreign influence that could disturb the nation‟s peace and stability, while at home Christian persecution continued with the most horrid and systematic method ever used in the history of Christian persecution. (Endo, 1977:9)

Christianity has been a controversy in Japan because of its theological view that is completely different from that of Japanese native religions, Shinto and

Buddhism. From political scope, it is also hard for Christianity to adjust itself to the political system of Japan. The attachment of Christians is absolutely to God.

Although there is a motto pro ecclesia et patria, for the church and the country, it does not necessarily mean that Christians share their allegiance with God with their national rulers. It is instead an encouragement for Christians to actualize their faith in order to sustain the church and at the same time bring peace to the country. Now that in Japan loyalty was to be given to the emperor, it was a problem for Christians. When rebellion broke out, Christianity was made scapegoat and it was completely banned. For the next two hundred years since the

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mid 17th century, Japan closed its door until Matthew Calbraith Perry with his US armada arrived at Ryukyu, Okinawa.

The Meiji restoration in 1868 brought great impact to the empire. The Iwakura mission was sent to Western countries in 1872 and when they returned it was decided that it was the time for Japan to undergo a total reform to make it a modern country. However, the reformation did not fully work in the field of religion, despite the promotion of religious freedom. The policy of making Japan a Shinto-state country, as seen in the account in Ruth Benedict‟s Chrysanthemum and the Swords,

Early Meiji statesmen wrote after they had visited the nations of the Occident that in all these countries history was made by the conflict between ruler and people and that this was unworthy of the spirit of Japan. They returned and wrote into the Constitution that the ruler was to „be sacred and inviolable‟ and not reckoned responsible for any acts of his Ministers. He was to serve as supreme symbol of Japanese unity, not as responsible head of a state (Benedict, 1974:125).

nevertheless put Christianity still in a polemical position despite there was an opinion that Christianity was the motor of Western civilization and therefore becoming a Christian was something patriotic. (Ion, 2009:3)

Since the writer could not find related studies discussing Shiokari Pass (with all respect, this statement means not to exclude unpublished studies previously conducted, if any), this is the first study that discuss the novel thoroughly, at least in Sanata Dharma University. For the related studies picked by the writer, as can be seen, there is none of them discussing the novel yet they do provide a great

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deal of information that fits the intrinsic elements of the novel, namely the setting of time and place and character‟s qualities. Now on this basis, the position of this study is both developing the already-existing studies reviewed here, for the novel itself is weighed with the same issues as the related studies‟, and to promote this study as the first one that analyses Shiokari Pass thoroughly.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

A character, according to A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Themes by

Edward Quinn, is a person depicted in narrative or drama with descriptions of its physical appearance, mind, and motivation (Quinn, 2006:72-73). Stanton in his An

Introduction to Fiction book states that the term character is used in two ways.

Firstly, a character designates the individual present in the story and, secondly, a character may refer to the description of attitudes, interests, desires, emotions, and moral principles of the individuals (Stanton, 1965:17). Cleanth Brooks and Robert

Penn Warren in The Scope of Fiction assert that a character has to resemble human beings in all senses (and this is not to say that a character must be in the form of human being), only there must be some characters that are described more fully and therefore more special than others (Brooks & Warren, 1960:148), while

M. H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms talks about characters which are given particular moral, intellectual and emotional qualities seen through their dialogues and actions whose grounds in character‟s temperament, desires and moral nature are called the motivation (Abrams, 1993:23).

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From three opinions above, it can be seen that a character is equipped with qualities; “moral, intellectual, and emotional,” according to Abrams. All of the qualities of a character are created by the author in order to characterize the character itself, especially in the case of the most prominent character which is commonly termed as the main character. A main character will be endowed with distinctive qualities that exalt its importance above other characters also present in the story. A main character is a round instead of flat one because, according to

Kennedy and Gioia in Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, it shows changes through enlightenment, growth, or deterioration. It is different from a flat character, which remains constant or unaltered from the start to the end of story (Kennedy et al., 1998:61). Identifying whether a character is a main character or not can be easier when the fiction is based on true story, besides the already telling evidences that such character experiences distinctive alterations, either to better or worse state.

The main character of Shiokari Pass was created based on the accounts of an actual person living in the relatively same time as the setting of time of the novel.

The most visible indicator is similarity of their surnames, “Nagano.” Yet that alone is not enough. Looking back to Stanton‟s idea that when a character “may refer to the description of attitudes, interests, desires, emotions, and moral principles of the individuals,” the reference might be coming from a certain individual whose qualities are described in his or her fictionalized version like the main character of Shiokari Pass.

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Interesting perhaps is the opinion of William Gass who said that “a character, first of all, is the noise of his name” (Kennedy et al., 1998:61). In describing a character, according to Quinn, one can start by pondering the character‟s name and think whether or not that name refers to certain qualities. Biblical or mythological characters‟ names are often used, not merely for the sake of naming but also characterizing (Quinn, 2006:73). A character built based on a true living or ever living individual may bears the real person‟s name as well, or at least has a hint in its name that refers to the real name, just like the case of two Naganos in

Shiokari Pass and in the real world: Nobuo, the protagonist, and Masao, the actual man.

A literary analysis that involves character of the analyzed literary work will not be effective, however, without first knowing the character. One has to identify how the character is characterized in the work before proceeding to the real topic of discussion. Even if a character is a fictional reflection of a real person, one must start from the character first instead of the latter, inasmuch as there is a literary analysis on the way and not an attempt to trace one‟s biography.

2. Theory of Christian Discipleship

The writer took the theory of Christian discipleship mainly from The Cost of

Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian who was put to death by the NAZI regime. In this book there are Bonhoeffer‟s thoughts about how a

Christian should regard the faith as something valuable and costly, in a form of discipleship.

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Disicpleship means adherence to Christ, and, because Christ is the object of that adherence, it must take the form of discipleship. Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ (Bonhoeffer, 1963:63-64).

Discipleship, however, is a crucial thing and it is the freedom for those who want to follow the path of Jesus, for discipleship needs a ready heart and sure mind with a ripe consideration that following Christ is walking on a rocky road.

Bonhoeffer asserted that to follow Christ was an option. “If any man would come after Me,” said Jesus. (Bonhoeffer, 1963:97) To choose to follow Christ means one must be ready to carry the cross. But if cross is seen as a burden, it is not so, according to Bonhoeffer. He said that

To endure the cross is not a tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ. When it comes, it is not an accident but a necessity. It is not a suffering per se but suffering-and-rejection, and not rejection for any cause of conviction of our own, but rejection for the sake of Christ (Bonhoeffer, 1963:98).

Discipleship thus is not an easy thing. The strength acquired to strengthen one‟s discipleship will take effect if it is seen as the gift of grace. Grace is something that is given, not asked for. Thus, it needs a high sensitivity of mind to realize that God waits for the response from whom He gives the grace for. Y. B.

Mangunwijaya in his Sastra dan Religiositas highlighted this through his interpretation on The Beatles‟ Nowhere Man song lyrics.

He‟s a real Nowhere Man Sitting in his Nowhere Land Making all his Nowhere Plans for nobody. Doesn‟t have a point of view,

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Knows not where‟s he going to. Isn‟t he a bit like you and me? Nowhere Man please listen, You don‟t know what you‟re missing, Nowhere Man. The world is at your command. He‟s as blind as he can be, Just sees what he wants to see. Nowhere Man can you see me at all? Nowhere Man don‟t worry, Take your time don‟t hurry, leave it all, Till somebody else lend you a hand… (Mangunwijaya, 1988:121)

In his interpretation, Mangunwijaya pointed out a subtle clue that particularly lay on the last three lines which was the belief that has always been held by

Christians as well as Moslems and Jews. It shows that enlightenment does not come from the endless search of someone but from God, by whom grace is bestowed to lead to the enlightenment (Mangunwijaya, 1988:122).

Not because the nature of grace is a gift that it automatically becomes the opus operatum that justifies sins and a guarantee for salvation. Grace alone does not do everything. It depends on how a Christian regards the gift he has acquired. In

Bonhoeffer‟s point of view, grace is a call to follow Jesus that demands determination and no turning back. Bonhoeffer thus emphasized the importance of regarding grace as something costly. He differentiated „costly‟ grace from „cheap‟ grace.

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock (Bonhoeffer, 1963:47).

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Costly grace is what the followers of Christ must realize; therefore identifying one‟s self as a Christian is an act to do and practice the gospel of Christ and not merely be proud and particularly „guaranteed‟ with what is called the promise of heaven in the afterlife, comfortably adhering to what is written in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh into the Father, but by Me.”

Bonhoeffer attacked this point of view in what he called as „cheap grace.‟

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks‟ wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate (Bonhoeffer, 1963: 45, 47).

A quote from Martin Luther featured in The Cost of Discipleship says pecca fortiter, sed fortius fide et gaude in Christo, “sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in

Christ more boldly still.” (Bonhoeffer, 1963:55) This is just the description of someone who thinks that sins need not be reckoned in Christian discipleship, for there is an opus operatum of grace that will justify the sins; grace alone does everything. This is just a very, very false perspective.

Christian discipleship needs to heed grace as something costly and because of its costliness it has to be actively actualized. How it is to actualize the grace that has been acquired is by following the examples of Christ and obey His words in the Scripture, exactly and absolutely. This is called single-minded obedience

Obedience is always a word easy to say but very often hard to agree with conducts. Bonhoeffer started the discussion of it in his book by presenting one of

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the most illustrious scenes of the Bible, in which Jesus was walking on the water in a great storm and Peter whose fear of the rolling sea was greater than his confidence in Jesus, that he was not able to reach Jesus by doing likewise.

Bonhoeffer pointed out here that when Jesus called Peter, it should have been something, and one thing only to rely on.

Again, when Peter was called to walk on the rolling sea, he had to get up and risk his life. Only one thing was required in each case – to rely on Christ‟s word. The forces which tried to interpose themselves between the word of Jesus and the response of obedience were as formidable then as they are to-day. Reason and conscience, responsibility and piety all stood in the way, and even the law and “scriptural authority” itself were obstacles which pretend to defend them from going to the extremes of antinomianism and “enthusiasms.” But the call of Jesus made short work of all these barriers, and created obedience (Bonhoeffer, 1963:87).

Bonhoeffer emphasize this kind of obedience so strongly. It is a single-minded obedience, not a so-so. Being obedient single-mindedly means not to question the righteousness of the word of The Lord, for it is truth that lies there and from the truth itself grace is radiated. It is therefore adhesively related to costly grace and discipleship and the cross, since the chance of getting plunged into hardship (the cross) is huge but to those who have performed a single-minded obedience, salvation is promised. Yet, from time to time, there are always obstacles that stand on the way. The worst of all is the re-interpretations of what Christ has told His followers to do.

Jesus might say: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and we should interpret it thus: “Of course we should have to seek all sorts of other things first; how could we otherwise exist? What He really means is the final preparedness to stake all on the kingdom of God.” All along the line we are trying to evade the obligation of single-minded, literal obedience (Bonhoeffer, 1963:89-90).

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Christian Bible, it is true, is open for interpretation for rather than series of explicit lectures and commands, it is more in the form of prosaic compilation.

Bonhoeffer‟s warning from the example above is that to make such an interpretation, far from the literal meaning of the words, is a consolation made to evade the burden called the cross. To reject the cross is to deny Christ, and to deny Christ means deserving not His grace. Since it is apparent that a single- minded obedience to God‟s commands is to be carried out with eagerness, the followers of Christ must prepare themselves to risk even their lives for Christ. It is the cost of discipleship that must be paid.

3. View on Choice

Aristotle in Magna Moralia, Book I, defines choice by first asking whether it is a desire or not.

It now remains for us to inquire into choice. Is choice desire or is it not? Now desire is found in the lower animals, but no choice; for choice is attended with reason, and none of the lower animals has reason. Therefore it will not be desire (Stock, 1984:1880).

Good businessmen will not let their problems at home affect the decisions they are going to make today. Season of the heart has nothing to do with business.

Reason is the most reliable thing in business, not instinct. By reasoning a certain matter, weighing risks and potencies of it, a sharp-minded businessman will be unbeatable even in the toughest dealings. Making choice out of reason is the key

(Stock, 1984:1881).

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4. View on Courage

Courage is something which is needed to make a choice. There is no need to calculate or speculate over and over again. All risks will be taken, however dismaying they appear to be.

Since then, courage has to do with feelings of confidence and fear, we must examine with what sort of fears and confidences it has to do. If, then, any one is afraid of losing his property, is he a coward? And if any one is confident about these matters, is he brave? Surely not! And in the same way, if one is afraid of or confident about illness, one ought not to say that the man who fears is a coward or that the man who does not fear is brave. It is not, therefore, in such fears and confidences as these that courage consists. It is with human fears and confidences, then, that the brave man has to do; I mean to say that anyone who is confident under circumstances in which most people or all are afraid, is a brave man (Stock, 1984:1883).

Aristotle gives his view above in Magna Moralia, Book I, that, different from choice, courage emanates from feeling, while choice from reason. Someone is courageous when he or she is able to overcome bad feelings to grab the choice that has been made. It is therefore the matter of seizing, not the matter of deciding.

Of course, someone cannot be said as courageous when he or she does not reason first but immediately do as his or her heart wishes.

5. View on Death

Someday a life will come to an end. Mortals cannot exactly predict in what way they are going to die. Will they die a peaceful or violent death? Nobody really knows.

This uncertainty on how death will come is something that depicts death as really disturbing image for many people. They become so anxious, for the next

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minute, God only knows, they may die in any way. They become afraid of it, especially if they have ever been witnessed somebody died in pain and agony, all of a sudden without preceding premonition.

Lars Sandman in A Good Death: on the Value of Death and Dying said that

…death is something we avoid getting acquainted with, something we avoid talking about nowadays and hence something we are less familiar with compared to our forebears (Sandman, 2005:60).

Now, that death is something people are afraid to talk about, fearing that a discussion about it will trigger an unexpected occurring, people become trapped in their own fear and cannot see death from the other side; the good one of it.

In battling this kind of fear, people look for spiritual guidance from religious advisors. In the case of Christians who are afraid of death, Christian priests or spiritualists may serve to console the troubled hearts and put new perspective towards death, which is not the end but simply the beginning.

Death, for Christians, is always a hopeful moment because those who believe in Jesus as the Way of life will be granted salvation and a place in the House of

God (John 14:6). Jesus said that God is the Master of the living, not the dead

(Matthew 22:32). St. Paul even stated more earnestly that the resurrection, the state of being alive after death, would surely happen otherwise to put faith in

Christ was a futile thing to do.

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ:

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whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished (1 Corinthians 15:12-18).

In other words, Paul encouraged his fellow believers not to worry about the moment of death because the resurrection of Christ from the grave was real and literal, and that would surely happen to those who believe in Christ.

“Verily, verily I said unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24). Jesus said that men are to fall, to die. No-one can escape death. Yet, a Christian death is never a meaningless death. Every deceased Christian is a seed for the world to fertilize its soil for faith to grow.

6. View on Righteousness

The view on righteousness used in this study is taken from Paul‟s letter to the

Romans.

What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world? For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just. What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one… (Romans, 3:1-10).

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Righteousness, according to Paul, is something that belongs only to God. It is unjustifiable for men to commit vicious conducts despite admirable intention lying beneath. All men were liars, wrote Paul, hence their vulnerability to sins.

Righteousness can be said as something that a Christian can pursue but he will never achieve it for his own sake. Therefore a righteous Christian can be said as one who dares to admit his sinfulness, always and always, and is never absent from confessing his sins. Even the judgments of God apply also to the most pious

Christians. If God was not righteous, Paul argued, how would He made his judgments?

C. Theoretical Framework

There are three problems in this study. The first one deals with the way the

main character characterized in the story. For this analysis, the writer used the

theory of character and characterization. The main character embodies certain

qualities and they have to be identified first, before moving to the second

problem formulation that questions the main character‟s process of finding his

Christian faith.

For the analysis of the second problem formulation, the writer employs the

both related studies, one that talks about Japanese pattern of thought regarding

personal honor and another one discussing the polemic of Christianity in Japan.

Those studies are reflected in the setting of time and place of the novel and so

are the issues. The main character underwent a process from an unbeliever to

become a Christian in an environment which was not friendly to Christianity;

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how he was willing to lower himself to the place of dishonored group of

people, while in the beginning he had displayed a hostile attitude towards the

religion? It was on that basis that the second problem formulation is analyzed

and the related studies was helpful to give a clearer description of what actually

happened in Japan at that time, thus developing the related studies selected by

applying them in a case – in this case a case in a literary work.

Besides the two related studies, the writer also employs views on

righteousness and death to help explain the anxiety over both of them felt by

the main character searching for consolation. It was in Christianity that the

main character finally could be satisfied and got the answers to his problems; a

factor that accelerated his conversion to Christianity.

In the third problem formulation questioning how the Christian life of the

main character can be regarded a form of uncompromising Christian

discipleship, the writer, again, uses the study of Japanese pattern of thought

related to personal honor to help make analogy for explaining the changing

perspective of the intolerant society as a result of the main character‟s

sacrificing himself to save the lives of the others. The other study is useful too

to help describing the condition of Christianity in Japan at that time, when

Christian discipleship was significant and crucial at the same time, in the time

of distress. The view on courage, therefore, is also significant in this section.

The most important in this analysis is the employment of the theory of

Christian discipleship, the portion of which is taken from Dietrich

Bonhoeffer‟s The Cost of Discipleship. Its utmost necessity is because it helps

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explain how the main character‟s life be regarded as a form of uncompromising

Christian discipleship. The view on choice is also necessary here, since

discipleship is a matter of choice rather than obligation.

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CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

A. Object of the Study

The object of this study is a Japanese novel written by Ayako Miura

entitled Shiokari Pass, the 4th edition of the year 2000 by Tuttle Publishing.

This paperback edition was printed in Singapore. It is an English translation

done by Bill and Sheila Fearnehough, while originally in Japan the novel is

entitled Shiokari Toge.

This novel is based on actual event happening in the early 20th century.

That is what makes this novel is captivating for the writer, as well as the

colorful portraying of the Meiji Japan era before the war broke between Japan

and Russia (1904-1905) and slightly after it. Another merit of this novel is the

author’s successful effort to weave the plot into one that involves emotions

and conflicts arranged delicately in a storyline which can stir the readers to

feel the feelings of each character in the novel.

The novel is based on the accounts of a certain Masao Nagano, a high-

ranking railway employee who is still revered in Asahikawa long after his

untimely death. Currently living in an intolerant Shinto-Buddhist society,

Masao Nagano was somewhat a man with no fear when the time came to

spread Good News. He tackled all the authorities barricading the missionary

work and traveled a lot to encourage his fellow Christians in Railwaymen’s

Christian Association groups all over Hokkaido. Then, en route from an

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outlying station on his way back, an incident befell him and this was the main

inspiration of Ayako Miura to write Shiokari Pass. All the information about

Masao Nagano came from the records of the Asahikawa church and an old

man who remembered him and became a Christian because of his influence

(Miura, 2000:10).

The novel began with the childhood of the main character, Nobuo Nagano,

living under the roof of his family’s hereditary home in the district of Hongo,

Tokyo. Nobuo did not know how his mother looked like, for it was said by

Tose, his grandmother, that his mother had died two hours after giving birth

to him.

The Naganos were of samurai stock and Nobuo’s grandmother was so

proud of their status that he, replacing the role of Nobuo’s mother, brought up

Nobuo to be a man befitting the profile of a samurai. Tose did not welcome

Western ways and ideas introduced to Japan via Meiji Restoration, whereas

her son, Masayuki, Nobuo’s father, had a broader insight and open-

mindedness and had therefore become a modern Japanese man.

With such attitude towards Western influence, Tose hated Christianity too,

whom she despised because of the Western flavor it brought. Moreover,

Christianity in Japan itself had ever been a banned religion before Meiji

government allowed the missionary work to start again, after nearly 200

years. That was why Tose banished Kiku, Nobuo’s mother, when she learnt

her daughter-in-law was a Christian. Kiku stood for her faith and left her

family, entrusting Nobuo in God’s hands.

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Kiku returned to the house after Tose’s death. She brought another child,

Machiko, whom Nobuo had never known before. It was not a good reunion,

though, for Nobuo was already convinced by his departed grandmother that

Christianity was an unholy and evil religion and not suitable for Japan. Also,

the majority of Japanese society was intolerant to Christianity at that time.

Little Nobuo grew under hatred towards Christianity because it caused his

mother left him, a more personal reason than considering it having a Western

flavor.

Yet, as time went by, Nobuo could not help following his curiosity

towards Christian religion. People around him made him aware that there was

something in Christianity he had never known before, for he had been too

long seen it from his own point of view, which was full of prejudices. His

mother, his best friend Osamu Yoshikawa (though he was not a Christian) and

Yoshikawa’s sister, Fujiko, dragged him to undergo a series of events that

made him wonder about realities of the world which were beyond his ability

to grasp.

Eventually Nobuo realized, after contemplating the events in his life, that

he was weak and fragile and therefore he needed God. He was converted into

Christianity. Following his conversion, Nobuo committed himself to be a

companion for the wounded and was resolved to hand over everything to

God, since all things belonged to Him. Consequently, it included the readiness

to give life for God, whenever necessary.

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Indeed, Nobuo was the man of his words. He died for others, when on a

railway at Shiokari Pass on his way back from Asahikawa to Sapporo for his

engagement with Fujiko, Nobuo used his own body to stop the coach where

he and other passengers were in the danger of derailment and crash. He

jumped in front of the coach and it stopped after rolled over Nobuo’s body.

Besides him, there was no victim in the accident.

The impact of Nobuo’s sacrifice was so great. Knowing that a Christian

was brave enough to commit such a thing, people began to reconsider what

they thought about Christianity. They now could see Christianity from

different side, that it was not at all a bad religion as what had been believed

by the intolerant Shinto-Buddhist society of Japan. So touching was the heroic

deed of Nobuo that after his death a number of people entered Christian faith.

B. Approach of the Study

It is important to select the appropriate approach when an analysis of a

certain literary work needs a particular pattern of thought that will help

determine the limitations so that the analysis can be conducted fairly as the

objectives of the study demand. Based on what become the objectives of the

study, the analysis of the novel Shiokari Pass employs moral-philosophical

approach.

Guerin in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature asserts that the

larger function of literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical

issues and therefore literature will be contextually interpreted based on the

philosophical thought of a period or a group (Guerin et al., 1999: 25).

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Horace’s definition of literature as a ‘dulce et utile’ thing shows that there

is something to say in a literary work which is intended to take effect within

the scope of morality and is based on a certain philosophical point of view.

Thus, moral-philosophical approach is an approach in the study of literature

whose perspective is based on the tenets of morality and philosophy.

Employing moral-philosophical approach means scrutinizing a literary work

from its moral and/or philosophical substance, most easily from the message

implied.

In analyzing Shiokari Pass, the writer chose the moral-philosophical

approach partially on the basis that the novel is based on a true story and at

the same it talks about a development of Christian faith of the main character.

There are Christian as well as Japanese philosophical values employed here in

this study, and also the message of the novel itself is clearly intended to

encourage its readers to never give up faith to God no matter how it costs.

That is why the writer considers moral-philosophical approach the suitable

approach for this study.

C. Method of the Study

The writer used library research in this study. In this kind of research, the

writer managed to find suitable sources containing necessary data and

information. It was by considering the factors of relevance, validity, accuracy

and appropriateness that the writer could finally decide what sources to pick.

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The primary source was the novel Shiokari Pass by Ayako Miura and the

secondary data were taken from various sources and used to support the

analysis conducted upon the topic. The secondary data consist of related

studies and theories, as well as the historical background. Most important of

the secondary data was Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship which

contains the theory of uncompromising Christian discipleship.

The analysis began with identifying the main character’s qualities as seen

in the way he was characterized and was followed by explaining the process

of his Christian conversion; how he changed from being an unbeliever into a

believer. The characteristics of the main character had important roles in each

of the stages (there were three stages identified in the process). Also, in the

analysis of this process, there were two different actualization of Christian

faith identified; the ‘unconscious’ and the ‘conscious.’ These two were about

the main character’s practicing Christian faith when he ‘unconsciously’ did it

as an unbeliever and when he ‘consciously’ did it after his conversion.

Finally, in the analysis of the third problem formulation, the faith

actualization was discussed to reach the conclusion that it was a form of

uncompromising Christian discipleship, in accordance with Bonhoeffer’s

theological discourse compiled in his opus magnum, The Cost of Discipleship.

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CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS

A. The Characterization of Nobuo Nagano in Shiokari Pass

A main character in a story is built by the author differently because of its importance throughout the whole story. Either way, black or white, good or bad, hero or villain, a main character‟s role surpasses other characters‟ present in the story.

The process of creating the most prominent of all characters in a fiction depends on the creativity and ideas of the author. One way to do that is by fictionalizing actual person, like in Musashi and Taiko, both written by Eiji

Yoshikawa, whose main characters were the actual Miyamoto Musashi and

Toyotomi Hideyoshi; back to Japanese era of feudalism. Yoshikawa did not alter the names of his heroes, for the two novels could be restrictedly read as biographies.

Altering name, however, is possible but not qualities, since there are historical evidences of the real person, more especially if the purpose of writing such

„biographical‟ fiction is to communicate or socialize the moral message related to the accounts of the real person. Such occurrence can be found in Ayako Miura‟s

Shiokari Pass, whose main character, Nobuo Nagano, has his name derived from

Masao Nagano, his real counterpart.

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In the Chapter III the writer has given a glimpse about who Masao Nagano was, the similarities between him and Nobuo, and what deed the latter had committed; one which inspired the author to write her novel.

The first problem formulation analysis of this study attempts to identify the characterization of Nobuo Nagano as the main character of Shiokari Pass. It is all about the fictive Nagano, not the real one, mind that. The findings in the first analysis will be significant in analyzing the process of his Christian conversion, which is the second problem formulation analysis.

Born in a samurai family, Nobuo was taught by Tose that they were of higher position in the society. Tose introduced Nobuo to a set of rules so that her grandson would have a noble attitude that met the ideals of Japanese samurai. The first thing Nobuo learned was to be strong. A samurai would never be seen crying, so Tose said when she caught Nobuo cried, though it was because he played with his uvula while looking at himself in the mirror (Miura, 2004:15). This characteristic of being strong, that he could not be shaken by unexpected occurrences, remained to the end of his life. This was stoicism in pain, something that gave Nobuo courage. When Nobuo threw himself to the rail to prevent the railcar when he and other passengers were in, he did it in a manner of a samurai who did not fear death at all (Miura, 2004:259-261).

Nobuo inherited the stubbornness of his grandmother and his mother, both of whom were opposites. Kiku, Nobuo‟s mother, was stubborn enough not to renounce her Christian faith when Tose, the grandmother, asked her to do so otherwise she had to leave Nagano house because Tose would not tolerate a

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Christian family member there, for at that time, the Meiji era, most Japanese displayed resistance against Christian religion which they saw as disastrous germ imported from the West (Miura, 2004:36-40). With Kiku‟s leaving, Nobuo was brought up by his grandmother.

Nobuo‟s stubbornness can be seen in how he persistently managed to achieve what he wanted, like when he asked his superior, Reinosuke Wakura, to pardon

Mihori, his colleague, for the theft the latter had committed in the office. He even said, “Mr. Wakura, if Mihori can’t be forgiven dismiss me with him” (Miura,

2004:205-206). Overcame by this stubbornness, Wakura granted Nobuo‟s appeal.

Back to his childhood time, Nobuo was stubborn enough not tell the truth to

Masayuki, his father, when he received injury because Torao, his friend, pushed him off the rooftop. He said that it was because he did not watch himself, though his father knew what exactly happened. Nobuo did not let Torao admit his fault

(Miura, 2004:19).

Besides stubbornness, however, both events also suggest that Nobuo had a compassionate heart. He could not stand the sight of others suffering. A clearer clue of his compassion can be seen in his romance with Fujiko, the younger sister of his best friend, Osamu Yoshikawa. Nobuo loved Fujiko whole-heartedly though he realized that Fujiko‟s disease which was spinal tuberculosis could affect him sooner or later. Yet, for Fujiko he was willing to do anything for her recovery, like consulting the best doctor in Hokkaido (Miura, 2004:186-187).

Nobuo‟s compassion was more evident when he decided to sacrifice himself to prevent a large number of victims in a railway accident. He did not care what

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would happen to himself, his only concern was the safety of the other passengers boarding the same railcar, when it got separated from the string and rolled down the slope. He used his own body to stop the railcar (Miura, 2004:259-261).

From his unwound love to Fujiko and his compassion towards her, Nobuo, too, displayed a great amount of loyalty. He could not turn away from something that he loved. Fujiko, his beloved one, and Christ, had he been converted to

Christianity. Nobuo could not leave Fujiko for healthier and better-looking girls, like Wakura‟s daughter whom Wakura himself had offered Nobuo to marry

(Miura, 2004:191-193). Even when Yoshikawa himself, Fujiko‟s older brother, and Takashi, Nobuo‟s cousin, begged him to marry someone else for they did not want something terrible befell him like what happened to Fujiko, Nobuo refused.

He was sure that Fujiko was the love of his life, and no-one else (Miura,

2004:233-235).

As a Christian, Nobuo displayed his loyalty to Christ by not skipping the opening ceremony of a branch of Young Railwaymen‟s Christian Association in

Nayoro, a day before his engagement to Fujiko (Miura, 2004:247). No matter how occupying the preparation for his engagement, Nobuo still spared time for God. In his religious activity a regular speaker in the Bible Study Group, Nobuo, too, displayed vehemence (Miura, 2004:235-236). For the work of God he readied himself, at no cost.

Nobuo did not hesitate or argue for too long to make a decision for he had a strong control over himself. Once he was convinced of something, it would be really difficult to change his mind, hence a man of principle.

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His tight adherence to principles that he believed made him an admirable man, a rare species indeed among people of his age. Nobuo once had ever been asked by Takashi, his cousin, to accompany him to Yoshiwara, a red-light district in

Tokyo. It was acceptable custom in Japan for men to have fun with some girls in such a place and Takashi wanted Nobuo to taste what it was like, for his cousin was always too serious. When they got near the gate of Yoshiwara, however,

Nobuo turned away and ran home, refusing to enter. He stuck to his principle that he had to steel himself against such weakness, for it was a vain amusement and good-for-nothing (Miura, 2004:99-100).

Nobuo was pensive, and this made him a little too serious all his life. His chief anxieties were the questions over righteousness and death, as expressed in his letters to Yoshikawa. Nobuo could not help thinking about righteousness – whether or not the most righteous person existed – after he read The Fig Tree, a novel given to him by a Christian author (Miura, 2004:123-124). When his father died suddenly, just like his grandmother, Nobuo was seized by the feeling of fear of death. He somehow felt his life would not be long (Miura, 2004:82). These thoughts were almost unbearable for him, until Christianity gave him satisfying answers.

Being serious and straight, Nobuo always restrained himself from over- indulgence. It had become Nobuo‟s routine to straightly go home after work. He did not drink and smoke (Miura, 2004:124). Since his father‟s death, Nobuo had become the family‟s breadwinner and he was responsible to his duty. By not enjoying himself in such manners, he showed responsibility to himself as well.

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Nobuo‟s great sense of responsibility stretched even to his making decision to join Wakura and Mihori who were transferred to Asahikawa from Sapporo. Both of them knew Nobuo‟s reputation as a skilled employee and at the same time remarkable man with rare qualities. He was the one who helped Mihori got his job back and now that Wakura asked him to come to Asahikawa, he did not refuse. He felt that Mihori was his responsibility, since it was him who helped Mihori out of trouble and it was only him who could make sure Mihori would not try any fancy ideas anymore (Miura, 2004:210).

His responsibility expanded to his spiritual life, when he gave himself to the works of God. It was the cost of his baptism, and Nobuo realized that he had to actualize his Christian faith seriously. Nobuo treated his faith seriously and he realized that it was only his faith which could set him free from any anxiety. He acquired his faith through a very long process. Once he got it, he did not let go until God took him back to His side.

B. Nobuo’s Process to His Christian Conversion

After analyzing the characterization of Nobuo Nagano, now it is time to move more into the topic that this study is interested in. The second problem formulation analysis highlights a spiritual process of Nobuo that changed him from an unbeliever into a believer; from an anti-Christian to a Christian. Nobuo‟s personalities identified in the first problem formulation played different roles in the process but they linked each stage to form a line, a process.

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The objective of the second analysis is to show the spiritual development that nears the main character to his Christian conversion and how in the development he had built a strong foundation of faith before conversion took place, thus a state of, the writer calls it, „unconsciously Christian‟ and then it is followed by the faith actualization when conversion had taken place, or in other words when the main character had become „consciously Christian.‟

The ultimate goal of this study is to explain the uncompromising Christian discipleship, summed up in the third problem. Now let us see what the findings of the second analysis are.

1. Rejection

Christianity had to batter Nobuo‟s very thick stronghold of rejection before it could penetrate his heart. Nobuo had been an unbeliever and his attitude against

Christian religion was not mild. He saw the religion as a good-for-nothing religion, unsuitable for Japanese people. There are two factors that built such attitude. First is the influence of his grandmother who in all her life hated

Christianity and second is Nobuo‟s disappointment towards his mother who left him and his father for the sake of her Christian faith.

Antipathy towards Christian religion, however, was no doubt a part of Nobuo‟s being acquainted to it. This is the first step of his conversion. Christianity had become a part of his life, and his journey to his Christian conversion had just begun.

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a. Grandmother‟s Influence

Born in the era of Meiji Restoration when industrialization and modernism had just taken place, Nobuo grew up in the period of transition. Masayuki, his father, could adapt himself to the newly introduced values and ways of the West while

Tose, his grandmother, remained a stickler to the old ways and traditions.

Since Nobuo‟s father, Masayuki, spent most of his time working in the Bank of Japan, it was with Tose Nobuo spent most of time and was therefore laden with her influence.

With Tose, Nobuo learnt how a person of samurai stock should act. Tose was a staunch follower of the old codes, saying that it was a disgrace for a samurai to look pitiful before others. Therefore, a samurai had to show stoicism in any unfortunate situation. The result of such an upbringing was a stubborn and straight gentleman as Nobuo grew. He is always portrayed in the novel as a figure one can learn something from, for he was careful whenever he took care of something and he stoutly stick to what he believed as the right thing.

Ruth Benedict, an expert of Japanese sociology and anthropology, stated that honor was always something to pursue and to maintain. It was the duty to observe, called giri to one‟s name (Benedict, 1974:145). A samurai would not let himself be the object of mockery. It was a shameful thing, indeed, and, for worse, had an ill impact towards the honor. Now on this basis, Tose reprimanded her grandson when she saw Nobuo crying, as a result of playing with his uvula (Miura,

2004:14).

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Thanks to Tose‟s strict upbringing that Nobuo grew as an admirable person.

However, a certain sentiment grew in him as he grew. It was related to

Christianity, the religion of minor religious group in Japan.

At that time, it was a common thing that a family member would be disowned if he or she was found a Christian, no matter how remarkable they truly were

(Miura, 2004:38). Christianity had been considered a serious threat towards Japan as a nation. It was the cause of isolationism policy which for two hundred years barred Japan from the outside world. Shimabara revolt (1637-1638), triggered by

Christian peasants and ronins (masterless samurai) who was oppressed by the

Magistrate of Nagasaki was notably a very telling fact that the government of

Shogun was sure to prohibit Christianity (Endo, 1977:9). The most fundamental reason, however, as reflected in the 1614 ban towards Christianity, was that

Christians gave their loyalty first to God Almighty rather than the worldly rulers, and it was against both the design of totalitarian Shogunate and the sacred law that obliged all Japanese to observe the obedience to the ruler as a duty to fulfill.

Without this, the nation once in strife would surely be in ruin again (Neill,

1975:160). Christianity, therefore, remained as having a black look even though

Meiji Restoration lifted the ban and promoted religious freedom.

Tose was enraged when she found that Kiku, her daughter-in-law, embraced

Christian faith. She was offered two choices: leaving the house or renouncing the faith, for the sake of her son and husband. Kiku stood for Christ. She packed her things and left.

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In the absence of his real mother, Tose became a figure of mother for Nobuo.

She wanted to make Nobuo believe that his mother had died two hours after giving birth to him (Miura, 2004:13). With Kiku‟s absence, too, Tose was free to share her perspective towards Christianity with Nobuo. She told him that Yaso (a derogatory word for „Jesus‟), whom Christians worshipped, ate human flesh and sucked human blood (Miura, 2004:36). Nobuo then acquired knowledge that

Christianity was an evil religion.

Not only the religion did he despise, but also the followers. Nobuo thought

Christians were foolish. He developed this thought largely via his own experience.

He eventually knew that his mother was still alive and he could not help feeling disappointed by his mother‟s choice to leave him when he was a baby. Now this grief personal experience was the biggest root of Nobuo‟s hatred towards

Christianity.

b. Disappointment towards Mother

“I will not allow that woman to be called Nobuo‟s mother. Anyone who prefers this Christ to her own child has no right to be called a mother.” So Tose brought up Nobuo to believe that his mother was dead (Miura, 2004:41).

Tose said that after Kiku left Nagano house. Nobuo, until Tose‟s death and

Kiku‟s return, had not known anything about the truth encircling his mother‟s aliveness. Not only he believed that his mother had died, Nobuo, too believed that

Christianity was an evil religion as well as its followers.

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When Kiku returned and the truth was revealed to Nobuo, he was even more convinced that Christians were out of their minds whenever they faced critical situation. Nobuo could not understand why Kiku preferred Yaso than her son and husband.

Since Tose‟s death, Kiku returned to the house and was received by Nobuo in hostility. The reason, when he finally found out why just now he could see his real mother, for Tose had previously convinced him that his mother was dead after giving birth, was because he felt his mother was irresponsible. Nobuo saw how ignorant Kiku seemed to be, when Masayuki, Nobuo‟s father, seemed to have his health worsen, Kiku did not skip her Sunday service in order to pay more attention to him.

“Mother, don‟t you think it would be better if father saw a doctor?” he asked. He did not say it in as many words, but he implied that his mother was to blame for going off to church and leaving his father at home. Come rain, come snow, she went to church every Sunday morning (Miura, 2004:84-85).

Another painful feeling was when his father seemed to have „betrayed‟ him. So far he had believed that, like him and his grandmother, Masayuki was a follower of ancestral Buddhism. Although Masayuki never said any bad thing about

Christianity, thanks to his mild personality and moderate attitude, he had never before given Nobuo any clue that he was secretly a Christian either. Before meal,

Kiku and Machiko, Nobuo‟s younger sister whom as well as his mother he had never known previously, said a prayer. Nobuo just said a customary word to begin eating, heeding not the other two who prayed, and started eating. Yet, he was

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surprised that at the closing of the prayer, Masayuki said „amen,‟ altogether with

Kiku and Machiko (Miura, 2004:44).

Nobuo‟s road to Christian conversion began with hatred towards the religion. It was a mountain to climb, with so many obstacles which Nobuo had to overcome.

Nobuo lived in an era in which people were intolerant towards Christian religion though Japan had already open to Western world and was ready to speed up to modernize itself. Yet in the hearts of Japanese people, memories of the past were still to clear to remember. They knew that the history of Christian mission was not a pleasant story to tell.

The writer would like to put aside the imaginative portrayal of Jesus as human flesh-eater and human blood-drinker for a moment. Though it left a deep impression for little Nobuo, the most reasonable factor that he hated Christianity was because he felt the religion had ruined his family and „drove her mother mad.‟

Now that his father was allegedly a Christian too, Nobuo felt a complete loneliness. His heart was broken by his own judgment that the religion had excluded him from his family. In fact Nobuo hated neither his mother nor his sister. When his mother returned, actually he was overjoyed to think that the gentle and lovable woman was his true mother. What he hated was the faith that his mother and younger sister had.

2. Compromise

Nobuo could not help to be overjoyed when he learnt that his mother was alive, not dead like Tose said. Basically, when his mother returned, she filled an empty

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place Nobuo‟s grandmother could never fit in. Yes, Nobuo was happy to have his mother at his side. But a thorn remained still. Nobuo could not help to be surprised when it was revealed to him his mother was a Christian.

Before Kiku returned, Tose had been a replacement for her to assume the role of a mother. As she was the one who drove Kiku out of the house, Tose was resolved that his grandson should never be let to learn the truth that his mother was alive. Alive or not, it was not important if the person was a Christian. In addition, she told Nobuo twisted story of Christian religion (her mind, of course, had already been corrupted).

When Tose was no more, Kiku returned and, despite Nobuo‟s resistance towards her faith, slowly won Nobuo‟s heart. Nobuo had known the story of

Christianity from a bigot. Now he would learn a completely different perspective.

Thus the next stage of Nobuo‟s development to his Christian conversion was to compromise with the religion he once hated. In this stage, he learnt what

Christianity really was and, „unconsciously,‟ he practiced Christian values.

The emphasis of this sub-section is Nobuo‟s compromise with Christianity, meaning that now his feeling of disgust towards the religion was no more but, still, he could not accept the idea that he too should became a Christian like his mother, his sister, and his father, in whose last will the request for Christian funeral was included. That was why the writer deliberately used the phrase

„unconsciously Christian‟ to make reference to the development of Nobuo‟s religiosity at this stage. He admitted that there was something virtuous in

Christianity, yet he did not think he had to be baptized.

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Besides the influence of his returning mother, Nobuo became well-acquainted with Christianity because of other people that came in his life. They were Osamu

Yoshikawa, his best friend. Certain events that made him think about life from certain premises. He felt fragile and somewhat unsecure after he witnessed two sudden deaths of his grandmother and his father. The moment of death left a dreadful image in Nobuo‟s mind. Not only that, another riddle for Nobuo was whether or not there was the most righteous person. It was against all that he knew from his grandmother that a samurai with his pride and honor had obtained an outstanding place in the society and therefore became the model for every

Japanese to take example from. In other words samurai was the most righteous among all.

To provide satisfying answers for such problems, there were none but those from Christian point of view. Had his thirst been quenched, Nobuo was sober enough to see Christianity from an entirely different perspective.

a. Kiku‟s Return and Different Perspective of Nobuo towards Christianity

Kiku‟s presence in the Nagano house, with Nobuo‟s younger sister, at first made Nobuo awkward for he had always been with his father and grandmother before. Kiku and Machiko were complete strangers to him. Moreover there was something annoying they brought into the house: their Christian religion.

As Nobuo grew, however, his resentment towards his mother had gradually been swept away. No matter how much he resented his Christian mother, he had been nevertheless longing for the presence of a mother and Kiku was just a lovable mother most children would make a wish for. Nobuo was amazed and

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touched when he caught a fever and his mother, so anxious, did not sleep at night just to make sure Nobuo was alright.

His mother was so beautiful and gentle, he even had a yearning love for her. But never before had Nobuo felt that he could utterly trust her. He had always felt there was something in her that he had to be on his guard against. He had been unable to accept the fact that his mother had something more precious to her than he was. “Can there be a mother in the whole wide world who would do such a thing as desert her child as she did?” he had asked himself miserably when he was younger. Such wretched feelings could not be healed in just a few years. Nobuo desperately wanted to know whether his mother really loved him. Now, as he realized that she had not slept since the morning of the day before, this unutterable joy and relief swept over him (Miura, 2004:93).

Nobuo was not aware but it was more than just motherly affection that was shown to him. Perhaps he had not yet been able to change his perspective upon

Christianity but his resentment towards her had gone.

Not until the visit of Harusame Nakamura, a novelist, and a Christian too, who gave Nobuo his book The Fig Tree (this would be overlooked in different subsection), Nobuo had asked his mother how she became a Christian.

“…But…I hear you‟re a Christian too.” Something like awe showed in Nakamura‟s manner. “People like me are not really worthy of being called Christians,” Kiku answered quietly, her eyes cast down. Harusame Nakamura looked fixedly at her, impressed by the fact that in this woman there was a faith strong enough to make her leave home. “That‟s not so. I‟ve already heard the gist of your story from Nobuo. I hold the same faith, but it makes me sad when I wonder how long it will be until Christians ate really accepted in Japan.” As he heard the two of them talking, Nobuo was amazed that he should dislike the faith of such worthy people. “From the beginning I‟ve been prejudiced and never tried to find out what true Christianity is like,” he thought (Miura, 2004:127-128).

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It was the moment when Nobuo got a new perspective towards Christianity. He had been prejudiced since the beginning, hearing stories of his grandmother and taking too hard the bitter experience in the past. He had never read the Bible for he thought there was nothing more than just Western flavor in it. Thus, he remained kept in the dark.

Kiku told about her past, when Nobuo asked her how she became a Christian.

It began with her seeing a young man being mocked and humiliated by a group of villagers in Osaka. Apparently he was a Christian, for the villagers yelled at him,

“Yaso priest, filthy priest!” Then one of them threw him with a dipper taken from a cesspit. The young man said nothing but went away to the nearby river, washed his face and hair, and began to sing at the top of his voice. Kiku saw that his face was radiant. It left an indelible impression upon her (Miura, 2004:128).

Now Nobuo wondered what was wrong with remaining a Buddhist like her ancestors. Kiku said that there was nothing wrong with it but, taking lesson from what she saw at Osaka, she wondered why the villagers acted against the teachings of Gautama Buddha which condemned violence in any form. Why did they torment the innocent young man?

“It was the faith of the man who suffered silently and then sang with joy which commended itself to my way of thinking, rather than the faith of his persecutors.” Kiku spoke in an impartial tone and Nobuo listened silently (Miura, 2004:129).

Kiku did not say that Buddhism was lesser than Christianity in the matter of virtue; in fact, she would say nothing about it if following Buddhism was the road that Nobuo chose. She realized that people are divided into groups and therefore

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this world was full of multiplicities, including the diversity of faith. Indirectly,

Kiku criticized Japanese society at that time who could not tolerate Christians to coexist with them.

Nobuo‟s thoughts from that moment on imperceptibly turned to God. It can be seen especially when he pondered philosophical questions over life and death and righteousness, in which the role of his mother was to provide him with Christian perspective that eventually gave him satisfying answers. There are also other people in the novel who help Nobuo to get closer to his Christian faith like the novelist, Harusame Nakamura, his best friend, Osamu Yoshikawa (though he was not a Christian but it was his wise way of thinking that had a great impact towards

Nobuo‟s development) and also Yoshikawa‟s sister, Fujiko, with whom Nobuo fell in love. Nevertheless, had his mother remained outside the house, the story would have been different after all.

b. Osamu Yoshikawa‟s Influence towards Nobuo‟s Sense of Righteousness

The writer has stated above, that the first problem formulation regards the distinction between Nobuo‟s life as a Christian before his conversion to the religion and after his conversion. With the return of his mother, the prejudice was broken and Nobuo began to see Christianity from a completely different perspective. It was just a matter of time until he himself became a Christian.

Baptism without a firm foundation of faith, however, was not strong enough to support faith so that it would not collapse.

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The significance of discussing Osamu Yoshikawa‟s influence towards Nobuo‟s sense of righteousness, related to the stage of compromise in Nobuo‟s character development as a process to his Christian conversion, is the development of

Nobuo‟s personality because of the influence of Yoshikawa, his best friend. With him Nobuo learnt a lot about living a worthy life and, more importantly, their relationship had an impact on Nobuo‟s sense of righteousness. He thought that

Yoshikawa was a remarkable person, and he tried to be like him. In this he succeeded but Christian point of view forced him to accept the truth that no matter how outstanding and upright a person might be, there was no-one righteous in the world. Everyone was fragile. Nobuo took heart on this and the writer would like to say that it is a form of compromise he made with Christianity through its point of view towards righteousness.

The discussion of how influential Yoshikawa had been for Nobuo, especially in building his sense of righteousness, can start now. So, Osamu Yoshikawa was the person Nobuo respected most. He was some kind of inspiration for Nobuo, all his life. Whenever the two friends were together, they always talked serious things freely. Yoshikawa was awed by Nobuo‟s frankness and Nobuo was always convinced by Yoshikawa‟s arguments over any topic they discussed together.

Their friendship started since the night when Nobuo and his fourth-grade classmates made promise to meet under the cherry tree at school in order to prove whether or not the rumor of a ghost was really a true story. It was rainy that night and Nobuo, keeping promise, came to the meeting point. He met nobody there but

Yoshikawa.

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“Ah, Yoshikawa. You surprised me, coming in spite of this downpour.” Having been quite sure no one would be there, Nobuo was flabbergasted. “But it was a promise.” Yoshikawa‟s almost blasé reply had a very grown-up flavour. “It was a promise.” Nobuo repeated Yoshikawa‟s words silently. Then a strange thing happened to him. The clear-cut weight of the word „promise‟ came home to him. “It looks as if nobody else is coming,” he said. “Mm.” “In spite of the fact that they promised to come, no matter what!” Nobuo had already half persuaded himself that he had come because he had promised. “Yes, but it‟s raining, remember!” said Yoshikawa. There was no trace of self- righteousness in his tone. Nobuo thought that Yoshikawa must be a remarkable person (Miura, 2004:51).

Yoshikawa‟s influence started that night under the cherry tree. More precisely, it was the first challenge towards Nobuo‟s sense of righteousness.

Hanging around with Yoshikawa somehow made Nobuo a sort of person with straight personality. It was Yoshikawa who made him ran away when Takashi, his cousin, took him to Yoshiwara, a red-light district.

It was an accepted custom at that time for a young man before becoming a soldier to play around with women. This was considered one step ahead of manly development. Takashi, noticing Nobuo‟s secret longing for such thing, decided that he should help his cousin and took him to Yoshiwara. On the way there, however, Nobuo remembered his best friend, now miles away in Hokkaido. He was sure that such and outstanding person like Yoshikawa would never do what he was going to do. Suddenly Nobuo felt ashamed at himself and he turned around, running away home unheeding Takashi shouting behind him (Miura,

2004:99-100).

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Under Tose‟s care, Nobuo was made known that people belonged to classes and he belonged to the high class, the samurai. More or less it affected Nobuo‟s character development into someone who always learnt from the best to act best, so as not to put a shame on him. Nobuo had Yoshikawa as a model from which he learnt to behave as a real man, which meant a man with responsibility and a good way of living, not shallowly as a typical Japanese man at that time. Therefore, the image of Yoshikawa seemed to remind him of how foolish he had been, letting himself carried away by lust.

Yoshikawa‟s personality thus became somehow a perimeter for Nobuo. As a young adult, especially after his father‟s death and he assumed the role of the family‟s breadwinner, he showed great responsibility. To support his family, he gave up the idea of entering university and got a job in a law court. He went home directly after work. He did not drink and smoke and, of course, never thought about having fun with women (Miura, 2004:124). It was all because of

Yoshikawa, who through his correspondences with Nobuo kept inspiring him.

Nobuo felt a great loss when his best friend had to leave Edo to far-north

Hokkaido because of heavy debt unpaid. Yoshikawa, too, lost his father and had to support his family, especially his fragile and lame sister, Fujiko (Miura,

2004:88,111).

The fact that he was a different and a better kind of man made Nobuo proud of himself. He thought that he was an upright person and therefore he felt uneasy when a novelist gave him a novel to read, entitled The Fig Tree.

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In the novel given to Nobuo, there was a story of a mischievous Japanese

Christian minister, Hatomiya, who had a love affair with a Japanese woman while he was already married to an American woman named Emille. At the end, the minister committed suicide by letting a passing train hit him, as a result of unendurable shame. The illegitimate child of his, however, was taken care of with a great care by Emille. She also arranged for a proper funeral for her husband‟s secret lover who, too, committed suicide; an action of so great a magnanimity

(Miura, 2004: 121-122).

Upon contemplating the story he had just read, Nobuo began to think that if such a minister, a Christian minister, could be finished off in such a way, then he who did not believe in Christianity should remain the way he was, for it was no use to hold faith when man still let himself carried away with lust. This seemed to be Nobuo‟s self-justification, for he, since Yoshiwara, had never had a way with woman; nor had he ever thought about it.

Nevertheless, the statement quoted from the Bible that became the message of

Nakamura‟s novel that there was no-one righteous in the world (Romans 3:5) disturbed Nobuo as he thought himself an upright young man with a great responsibility. He was disappointed when even his mother said so, that in this world no such person existed.

“But, Mother, is it really true that there are no righteous person people in the world?” “I don‟t think there are any.” When this was stated so simply and clearly, Nobuo felt ashamed. He had included himself in the category of the good people, and was disappointed that his mother did not think of him as a perfectly upright young man.

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“I gave up going to university to take care of her and Machiko, and Mother doesn‟t credit me with being a good person,” he thought. “I don‟t go out to enjoy myself. I come straight home from work. I don‟t drink. I don‟t smoke.” Nobuo more and more had a compelling urge to justify himself. “Nobuo, you don‟t look convinced. You think that you are so well-behaved you must be righteous, I suppose.” …That a person who thought himself superior might not be so, was a painful truth for Nobuo. He liked to be praised, whatever he did. The more he considered this idea, the stranger it seemed (Miura, 2004:124).

Having tried to match Yoshikawa in virtue, Nobuo failed to learn the truth that even an upstanding figure had a stain. Implicitly it was admitted by Yoshikawa himself, during his visit to Nagano house. He and Nagano talked about the recent development of Fujiko‟s marriage plan with one of his colleague. Yoshikawa thought that it would be better for Fujiko to have a husband, and one office mate named Sagawa proposed marriage. Yoshikawa thought if this was turned down, no-one else would like to marry someone like Fujiko, with her bad leg and poor health (Fujiko was 16, while at that time woman reaching 20 years-old was considered a spinster).

Once again Nobuo felt himself to be no match for Yoshikawa. He could not imagine himself losing any sleep with worry over Machiko. He wondered if the reason lay solely in the fact that Fujiko was lame. Even if Machiko suffered from the same affliction, he was sure he would take a far more detached attitude than Yoshikawa. “You‟re a wonderful person.” Nobuo found himself expressing the feeling yet again. “There‟s nothing remarkable about that. My trouble is self-interest. I care more for myself than for Fujiko. It‟s just that I want to spare myself the unpleasantness of seeing her miserably married to some worthless fellow” (Miura, 2004:152).

This modest statement finished Nobuo off. Whatever effort he had made to be a remarkable person like Yoshikawa; he could never be an upright person forever.

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Nobuo‟s sense of righteousness was built on the basis of his pride of being a distinguished fellow. There was no doubt that he was a diligent employee and devoted head of Nagano house. Yet, he failed to see that beneath his conscientious personality there was fragility.

Having acquired new insight, a Christian perspective upon righteousness and by hearing Yoshikawa criticizing his selfishness, Nobuo had something to ponder.

The fact that no-one was righteous became a fundamental basis for his conversion to Christianity about to come. A more thorough elaboration of this can be seen in the analysis of the second problem formulation of this study.

c. Nobuo‟s Anxiousness towards Death

Discussing Nobuo‟s anxiousness towards death is necessary in order to see how he finally compromised with Christianity through its point of view regarding life and death, as it gave him the consolation that he needed. Nobuo‟s anxiousness towards such thing was triggered by the sudden deaths of his grandmother and his father and the fact that Fujiko, Yoshikawa‟s sister whom he fell in love with, was gravely ill and could die anytime. Also, he somehow had a feeling that his lifespan would be short.

Nobuo‟s mind was tortured by the horrid image of death. Nobuo somehow had a feeling that he would not live long

…these days he himself felt that for some reason or other he would not live to old age. He would puzzle for hours over why human beings had to die. Sometimes he would have a vivid memory of the face of his grandmother Tose in death, and would wonder what kind of death he would have (Miura, 2004:82).

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and in the novel he, indeed, died young. He remembered the deaths of his grandmother, Tose, and his father, Masayuki. Both of them died all of a sudden.

Nobuo wondered that if anyone could be dead without having shown any sign, death was so cruel after all.

Tose died of apoplexy when she learnt that Masayuki still frequented his wife whom she had banished because of her Christian identity. It was Nobuo who told her that when he and his father went out to see the chrysanthemum dolls at Dango

Hill a little girl approached Masayuki and called him „daddy.‟ Nobuo who had never known about Machiko (and because what he knew was that his mother had died), of course thought it strange that his father could have another child. (Miura,

2004:30) Meanwhile, sudden death seized Masayuki when Nobuo was at the third grade of high school. He went to work as usual in the morning, only he did not look well. When he was off to the office on rickshaw, it was the moment he lost consciousness. Masayuki died in the hospital after fainted for six hours (Miura,

2004:104).

Nobuo had believed the saying that man had been the „Lord of Creation.‟ Man could shape his own life into whatever form intended. However, how great the life somebody had led, such kind of person could perish all of a sudden. Nobuo was unreadily led to accept that there was far much higher authority upon life and death than one of human being. He was anxious, he was worried, and most of all he was afraid. He needed more than just consolation. He wanted reassurance that

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death would not be the end of everything. He expressed his thought in a letter to

Yoshikawa.

Man may be the ‘Lord of Creation,’ but I still wonder why people should have to die in such a miserable manner. My grandmother died of a stroke too, so when my father died suddenly of the same disease, I came to think of death as a sudden, awful, surprise attack. Of course, I don’t suppose anyone thinks of death without revulsion, but to be attacked without warning and struck down by a single blow is unbearably frightening (Miura, 2004:109).

When Yoshikawa, down from Hokkaido, visited Nobuo in Tokyo, they talked about the same thing again. Yoshikawa mentioned about reassurance, or, rather, the feeling of reassurance related to the discussion over death and how everybody, including Yoshikawa, as he himself admitted, was afraid of it.

“...I‟m ashamed to say it, but on account of my grandmother and my father both having died so suddenly, I‟m excessively concerned with the question. Sometimes I wake up suddenly in the middle of the night and talked to myself, „Ah, I‟m alive?‟ Then the next moment I begin to have absurdly childish thoughts and start wondering when and where I shall die, of what illness, and surrounded by what kinds of people.” “That goes for me too. It‟s terrifying to think of dying. I want to prolong my life as much as possible, even if it‟s only one day. But I don‟t make a special study of the matter, or spend all my time thinking about it...” “Is that so? Even you are afraid of death, Yoshikawa?” Nobuo looked at him with something like relief. They stared at each others and laughed. “It‟s reassuring to talk to you, Yoshikawa.” “Is it? But remember, you are only talking about the feeling of reassurance, and that‟s not the same thing as real reassurance” (Miura, 2004:148-149).

Yoshikawa differed „feeling of reassurance‟ with „real reassurance,‟ two different things of which Nobuo agreed upon. Death, as seen from the discussion between Nobuo and Yoshikawa, was indeed a mysterious thing. Nobody knows when his or her life would end. Yet death was sure to happen. Nobuo would have

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never found the real reassurance had he not been converted into Christianity. As his father had said when he tried to explain to Nobuo why his mother preferred to leave the house, her husband, and her son in favor of her faith, “Human beings are creatures who must have something to cling to, even if it costs them their very lives,” (Miura, 2004:45) the question of life and death was not actually as frightening as many would see so, provided that human beings have something to believe in; something able to give reassurance that death was not to be afraid of.

In that condition only anyone could welcome death with joy in heart.

Another factor that made Nobuo so anxious over the question of life and death came from his feeling of love towards Fujiko, Yoshikawa‟s sister. She contracted spinal tuberculosis and at that time it was almost impossible cure such dangerous and infectious disease.

Fujiko‟s bad leg and poor health, however, could not extinguish Nobuo‟s love to her. Nobuo valued something more than just physical appearance that he could never sway from Fujiko. But now Fujiko could only lie on bed and he could not help to think that her time could come at any moment. That was why he became anxious of death even more, and shared what was in his mind with his mother.

Nobuo asked his mother‟s opinion about death and her answer was that it was not the end of everything. Nobuo, however, was not content with such an answer and asked whether or not there was such a future for the dead, the question of which Kiku answered by nodding. Still, Nobuo had not been satisfied.

“What sort of a future is it?” Nobuo pressed his question almost skeptically. “Listen, Nobuo. If I tell you that death is a sleep and that we awaken again, you won‟t believe me, will you? If you enquire seriously about something, you

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must treat the answer seriously too. It‟s the kind of thing people humbly consult a minister or a Buddhist priest about.” Kiku replied (Miura, 2004:160).

By mentioning „Buddhist priest‟ too Kiku implied that everyone could be as anxious of Nobuo in the matter of what would happen after death and how they longed to be „assured‟ that death was not the end of everything. It was the enigma that puzzled people from various religious backgrounds. Yet, there was still for

Nobuo a question unanswered: “What is the power to live?” (Miura, 2004:160)

The answer came when Yoshikawa revealed that Fujiko had become a Christian and how with her new faith she experienced a spiritual renewal that led to a spiritual healing that could make her endure her sufferings.

Fujiko had ever had a company, a girl frequently visiting her and she brought with her the Holy Bible. The girl had been once the pupil of Fujiko‟s mother in the art of dressmaking and was extremely kind to Fujiko, no matter the dreadful disease she contracted. Fujiko, touched by such kindness, eventually read the

Bible and soon, in course of time, became a Christian. For this event Yoshikawa explained to Nobuo that in Christian religion Fujiko could find a consolation which eased her burdens.

“... On top of that, she fell ill just at the time she got engaged, and must have wondered why it should be she who met with all these misfortunes. Of course, she never once spoke to us about it. In her heart she loves God and it makes her very happy” (Miura, 2004:179)

Though Yoshikawa did not mention directly that the consolation Fujiko felt meant also the freedom from fear should the worst thing come, it was enough to give Nobuo something to think about, related to „real reassurance‟ they once ever

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discussed. Nobuo‟s grandmother‟s and father‟s health conditions both seemed to be alright when their lives suddenly had to end. Fujiko, too, was near to her engagement with Yoshikawa‟s colleague, a fine gentleman, when she suddenly fell ill and had to remain in bed. The engagement, of course, was cancelled. Her illness, moreover, was not a light one for it was the infectious and deadly disease of spinal tuberculosis. However, as explained by Yoshikawa, Fujiko clung to something that could strengthen and cheer her in the moment of despair.

The question of life and death, as well as the problem with righteousness, directed made Nobuo realize that he was as weak and helpless. If the problem of righteousness made him consider that nobody was free from sin, the opinion drawn from the experiences of seeing two sudden deaths showed the incapability of anyone to be the „Lord of Creation‟ who could determine everything. Feeling that he had to have something to believe in, thinking how weak and helpless he was; was a form of compromise he made with Christianity through its point of view towards death and life after death.

When Nobuo had become a Christian, this contemplation had already provided a strong foundation that made him afraid no more of death and, even, encourage his fellow Christians to be ready to sacrifice life for God, if necessary.

d. Nobuo‟s „Unconscious‟ Actualization of Christian Values

With the influence of his mother as well as Yoshikawa‟s and Fujiko‟s, Nobuo became close to Christianity and actualized its values although he had not been baptized yet. The writer named this form of his compromise with Christianity as

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an „unconscious‟ actualization of Christian values. It would be different after his baptism; that if he did something based on the words of Christ he knew it and was motivated by what was written in the Scripture. Yet for now, his actualization was not motivated by a consideration that it was what God commanded mankind to do.

He was simply inspired by the people mentioned above.

One value that he „unconsciously‟ practiced was the option for the poor. It was reflected in his care towards Fujiko. Despite her having a dangerous and infectious illness, Nobuo in the name of love did everything that he could to ease her suffering. He was not troubled over the fact that the girl he loved had a little chance to live and, should she live, would not be an ideal wife. Nobuo admired

Fujiko‟s spirit; how she always kept the optimism to get well as soon as possible.

It is, too, Nobuo‟s sympathy for Fujiko that made him left his job in a law court for trying his fortune in Hokkaido. Such act could be considered ridiculous, or perhaps, egoistic. Ezo, or Hokkaido, was a place „even birds would not fly to,‟ so the old song said (Miura, 2004:69). Located at the northernmost of Japan, its weather was unfriendly especially when winter came. Now why should a man like

Nobuo threw away his career in Edo and came to such place? He had been paid well in his law court job and he had his mother to take care of, for Machiko had been married. Was it not deserting his responsibility and against his father‟s last will?

Nobuo could not stand staying in Tokyo while Fujiko suffered from spinal tuberculosis in Hokkaido. In Sapporo, Nobuo got a job as a railway employee, thanks to Yoshikawa‟s effort. His performance at work impressed both his

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colleagues and superior. Not surprising it was, when one evening his superior,

Reinosuke Wakura, invited him to visit his house, where he was offered the hand of Misa, Wakura‟s daughter, for a marriage. Nobuo, despite the promising career at sight should he marry his superior‟s daughter, refused. No girl could replace

Fujiko though physically Misa was much better than Fujiko (Miura, 2004:192).

By turning down Wakura‟s marriage arrangement, the writer could say that

Nobuo had displayed an act of being the neighbor of the wounded, one Christian value which in the Bible can be found in Luke 10:30-37, where the parable of the

Good Samaritan is. Nobuo knew well, of course, what kind of illness Fujiko contracted and the risks he had to face. First, he would possibly be infected and, second, he could at any time lose her for at that time medication for spinal tuberculosis could not guarantee recovery, and that would mean he had wasted his time waiting. However, he did all he could for Fujiko‟s recovery, including consulting the best doctor in Hokkaido (Miura, 2004:188).

Indeed, it was a Christian example implied in Nobuo‟s love story. Nobuo had not yet been a Christian, yet his love for Fujiko demonstrated love which was not a selfish one. Nobuo had not yet declared that he had accepted Christ, yet the

Good Shepherd had seen him from afar following the flock, not anymore wandering alone.

The fact that Nobuo could not waver from Fujiko, that he could love her just the way she was, was also because he had already abandoned his sexual desires.

Back to some years ago, when he was an adolescent and his cousin, Takashi, took him to Yoshiwara to „initiate‟ him with a happy time with girls, Nobuo

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remembered Yoshikawa and ran away. He was ashamed to himself, for he thought that Yoshikawa would not do such thing and it made him a remarkable person.

The writer has discussed about how Yoshikawa‟s personality affected Nobuo‟s.

Nobuo became a man with great sense of responsibility and was always straight.

He did not like vain amusements like having fun with prostitutes or drinking sake though they were accepted customs for a Japanese man. Although it made him proud of himself that he forgot that he was fragile and therefore he fell to think that he could be a righteous person, in fact Nobuo had already practiced another

Christian value related to adultery and sexual desires.

In the desert, on the way to the Promised Land, Moses received the Ten

Commandments at the top of Mount Sinai. One of the commandments said that it was forbidden to commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). In the New Testament, Jesus talked more about adultery.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28).

It was, however, a hard thing to do, especially when as a young man Nobuo was lured by young women in kimonos on his way to and from work. He remembered a proverb saying that „a man‟s heart is never settled.‟ And so, one night he battled fiercely with his sexual desires and overcome them (Miura,

2004:161-163).

With this attitude, it was not surprising that other men were led to think that something was wrong with Nobuo. He looked like a type who did not need a

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woman. He did not need a woman, indeed, if a woman merely meant an amusement. He had overcome his sexual desires, one thing that made him think he was not a weak person and therefore needed not to depend upon God (Miura,

2004:163). Nobuo had not been motivated by Christian spirit, for he thought it was the best thing to do in order to improve his own quality as an upright person.

Although he thought so, actually he had followed the commandment that mankind should not commit adultery, nor have any intention of doing so. His foundation of faith for his conversion was strong enough.

3. Conversion and the „Conscious‟ Actualization of Christian Faith

At last, Nobuo accepted Christ as his Savior. This is the peak of his character development as a process to his Christian conversion. The analysis of this stage focuses on his baptism to his actualization of Christian faith, now no more an

„unconscious‟ one but „conscious,‟ for he had known the reason why he should obey the words of God.

The foundation of faith had been laid before through the influences of his mother, Osamu Yoshikawa, and Fujiko who made him close to Christianity. His conversion had found a strong foundation to avoid future collapse. For his baptism, Nobuo had written a confession of faith. He related his entire spiritual odyssey to find Christ. It started with his childhood and adolescent days, when under the influence of his grandmother he could only see Christianity exactly like his grandmother believed. He had been a bigot, until one day he began to think about death and sin. It was the moment after his father‟s death. He continued with

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his early Hokkaido days, when he encountered an open-air preacher from whom

Nobuo learned about Christianity and was convinced that he was to embrace the faith. The preacher, however, gave him a task to carry out a passage in the Bible, which turned to be a neighbor for the wounded as seen in the parable of the Good

Samaritan.

In carrying out the task, Nobuo decided that his troublesome colleague,

Mihori, was the wounded man in the street and that he should act as the Good

Samaritan. As he performed that role, he soon realized that he had been wrong to think that he was the Good Samaritan. He was actually the wounded one, and that the Good Samaritan was God Himself, for Nobuo had taken pride in his deed and looked down at Mihori. Nobuo recognized his sin, and finally he understood what the preacher said that it was Nobuo‟s sins too which nailed Christ to the cross, something he previously had found difficult to understand. Nobuo concluded his confession of faith by stating that he was ready to enter Christian faith, as he believed in the death of Christ to redeem the sins of mankind, His resurrection, and the promise of salvation. He knew what it meant, being the disciple of Christ.

Therefore, he offered his life to God unconditionally to become His instrument in a Christian discipleship (Miura, 2004:225-227).

Nobuo‟s confession clearly reflected all the struggles he had undergone to be united with Christ. His conversion to Christianity, however, was finalized by neither his church membership nor his confession. Nobuo‟s true conversion laid on how he became a true Christian, following the examples of Christ. The writer

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provided the speech at the beginning of this section as a stepping stone to the further analysis below.

Since his arrival in Hokkaido, Nobuo felt that day by day he was drawn more and more closely to Christ. Fujiko, his beloved, had to stay in bed because of her spinal tuberculosis and Nobuo, not wavered by a promising offer from his superior to marry his daughter, always did the best for Fujiko‟s recovery, no matter how perilous it was for his own health since Fujiko contracted a contagious disease. It appears to be right to call it the option for the weak and since it includes the condition of someone in poor health and, the opinion seems stronger.

The writer, at the first section of the analysis of the first problem formulation, agreed that it was a model of Christian love. However, such model served best as a basis, not a structure, of a Christian life. A passage from St. Luke‟s Gospel runs:

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again (Luke 6:32-34).

It was, indeed, an outstanding love shown to the poor seen in how Nobuo took care of Fujiko, despite the fact that recovery was of little chance. Yet the passage above indicates that such act was not necessarily Christian, for it is done for a beloved one; “for sinners also do even the same.”

It was snowy one evening when Nobuo walked past the famous Sapporo‟s red- bricked Agricultural Development Office. At a street corner, he encountered an open-air preacher shouting to passers-by. The man wore no overcoat, though it

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was a very cold evening. No-one listened to him but Nobuo stood amazed as he listened to every word.

“Listen everybody, what sort of creatures do you think we men are? Isn’t it true that all men like themselves better than anything else?” (Miura, 2004:196-197)

Those two interrogative sentences surely penetrated Nobuo‟s heart, as it affirmed the question long time ago, when he thought about righteousness and the state of being the most righteous among all.

“What sort of creatures do you think we men are?” for Nobuo was really a question that stripped him off his attributes as a samurai offspring, as a reputable young man with a good career and worthy of promotion, as a responsible head of the family, as a devoted son of his mother and lovable older brother of his sister, and as an extraordinary young fellow who gave all his love to a lame and gravely ill girl and turned down a much more promising marriage proposal. All of them were torn off by the question of the open-air preacher, especially when he further asked, “Isn’t it true that all men like themselves better than anything else?”

“Now then, what does it mean to love ourselves more than anything else? It means that we hate to admit we are wrong. We all know it‟s wrong to embezzle money, but when we do it, we justify ourselves. We know it‟s wrong to speak evil of others, but when we do it we say we are promoting right and condemning wrongdoing. There‟s a saying, „Even a thief is three parts virtue.‟ Yes, even a thief can find some sort of excuse to himself” (Miura, 2004:197).

What happened next penetrated Nobuo‟s heart even deeper. Children in the street – their minds corrupted by bad sayings about Christianity, threw snowballs to the open-air preacher. One of them hit Nobuo who immediately turned his head

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around in anger. Almost instantly afterwards, he remembered what he had already known from his father when he was a boy. It was when they together looked at a gruesome image of Christ nailed to the cross. His father explained that He did not commit any crime at all. He healed the sick and told people about God and love.

Yet, He was sent for crucifixion. Nobuo thought that Christ had to be very angry; betrayed by His own people to whom His love knew no bound. His father instead said that it was not so, for He prayed “God, please forgive them. I am sorry for them because they do not know what they are doing” (Miura, 2004:47).

Yes, the children who threw snowballs did not know what they were doing,

Nobuo thought. It was the same situation experienced by Christ when He was nailed to the cross. Was Christ angry? No, but he did. Later on, Kazuma Iki, the open-air preacher, elaborated this problem when he and Nobuo discussed about

Nobuo‟s long search for Christ in Nobuo‟s lodging.

Nobuo confessed that he had been interested in Christian faith for a long time, since his mother rejoined the family after his grandmother‟s death. He had been well-acquainted with Christian values ever since. He nodded when Kazuma Iki asked him whether or not he would like to be baptized. Nodding was too easy, though; for Kazuma Iki immediately asked him one critical question.

“But you have forgotten one thing. Do you know why Jesus was nailed to the cross?” “Well, you said that Jesus bore the sins of the whole world on the cross, but...” “That‟s right. Quite right. But, Nagano, do you understand that He was nailed to the cross for your sake; in fact that you were the one who nailed Him to the cross?” And Kazuma Iki‟s glance became penetrating. “That‟s impossible! I have no recollection of ever nailing Christ to the cross,” Nobuo protested. Seeing him waving his hands, Kazuma Iki smiled broadly.

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“Well, if that‟s the case, you have no relationship to Christ” (Miura, 2004:200- 201).

By asking such critical question, Kazuma Iki had highlighted one critical point that had caused damage to Christianity for hundreds of years. That Nobuo did not want to associate himself with the Jewish and Roman people who crucified Christ was somewhat reasonable, if seen through the perspective regarding timeline. At the surface, Nobuo‟s rebuttal could be right. Logically, Christ had been crucified as the sacrificial lamb for the sins of men – the men of His time. On the third day following His death, He had been resurrected and forty days later He ascended to heaven and was glorified. The world then should have been purified from sins.

Sins now belong to those who do not believe in Christ. Thus, to accept Christ as

God and Savior guarantees a lifetime freedom from sins. This is consolation and, indeed, false consolation.

Carrying the cross is not as easy as professing to have become a Christian.

Praying and fasting do not automatically make someone worthy to be called pious.

Christ has said that His yoke was easy and His burden light (Matthew 11:30) yet history recalls moments of hardship in the history of Christianity since Jesus preached the Good News to the present time. There are always challenges for

Christians, either from the outside or the inside.

Nobuo was a Japanese man and as normally a Japanese would believe, someone who held loose his reputation was an unworthy person. This was an important, even a sacred, compulsory for every Japanese individual to always

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observe the giri, or duty, to one‟s name. Ruth Benedict in her Chrysanthemum and The Swords said that

A man was dishonored if he committed a crime or mischief that gave him black look in the society. Not only the mischievous but also his whole family‟s reputation would be stained. In this situation, unless the doer did something to restore his and his family‟s honor (including suicide ritual called seppuku), he would normally be told off or humiliated. He was lower than the lowest dregs at the cloaca maxima. However, a Christian would stand by such person‟s side and became his neighbor in distress. This was Nobuo‟s task to accomplish; being the neighbor of his colleague, Minekichi Mihori, who was found stealing another employer‟s pay packet.

“...I would like you to take any passage of the Scripture you like and try to obey it absolutely. It must be perfectly, thoroughly followed. If you do that you will see how far short you fall from being the person you ought to be” (Miura, 2004:201).

Kazuma Iki, seeing that Nobuo needed to prepare himself before being converted, gave him the task to test how far he could go. He had to read the Bible and found a passage Nobuo had to thoroughly follow. By doing so, it was hoped that the „cheap grace‟ attitude would be swept away from Nobuo‟s heart, for even

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to put into practice the simplest thing in the scripture could in fact not as simple as it might look like. The yoke might be easy and the burden might be light, but they were so provided that there was earnestness. So, after Kazuma Iki left, Nobuo began to open the Bible given to him by Machiko‟s husband. He found the passage of three travelers and a dying man, from the Gospel of Luke.

And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And He said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise (Luke 10:30-37).

Now that there was an incident in the office, when a pay packet was lost,

Nobuo thought that it was a chance for him to actualize what was written on the passage above. As a Japanese man Nobuo, of course, saw Mihori‟s integrity was deteriorated and he alone was the one who could restore it. Nobuo, in contrast, was an admired employee, the favorite of both his colleagues and his superior.

Now, would he bow with Mihori for mercy? Would it not disgrace his own reputation to stand by a wretched man?

Nobuo was to obey whatever instructed by the passage he had chosen and his task was to be the neighbor for the wounded. Now in the office his colleague,

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Minekichi Mihori, had been confined in a difficult situation. He stole another employee‟s pay packet and his boss, Reinosuke Wakura, knew who committed the thievery.

Wakura, on the very day the pay packet was stolen, immediately assembled all his subordinates for investigation after the employee whose packet was stolen reported his loss to him. The boss did not enjoy reproaching someone in the forum, so he ordered his men to close their eyes and put their pay packets on their desks. He added that anyone who had double had to put them both. No-one was to open their eyes until he told them to do so. Carefully looking at the packets one by one, he noticed that on Mihori‟s desk there was a packet not his own. He had put a wrong packet. Wakura did not say anything and told them to open their eyes. He said that he would overlook the incident if the missing pay packet was brought to his house that night. Surely the suspicion rested on someone in the room, but no- one knew who except Wakura, who in vain waited for Mihori to come and give the packet he had stolen. The next morning, Mihori got a surprise attack. Wakura visited his house, telling him to immediately hand over the packet and instructing him not to come again to the office (Miura, 2004:194-195).

Knowing that Mihori was in trouble, Nobuo came to his house the next day after he received Kazuma Iki in his lodging. Nobuo was not only to return the kindness shown by Mihori to him at his first days in his new office in Sapporo, for

Mihori was the only colleague who kindly showed Nobuo all the workings in the office. The other employees gave him warm welcome too, but among them there were those who were jealous because of Nobuo‟s fine record in his previous work

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in the law court. Mihori was the only one who without restraint even envy helped

Nobuo to adapt to new situation. So, if now Mihori was in trouble, it was also his duty to observe what kind of favor had been given by Mihori to him, so that he would not just ignore whatever had befallen Mihori. That was one thing. On the other hand, Nobuo thought that Mihori was the wounded man in the parable.

(Miura, 2004:203) He wondered if he could be the Good Samaritan. He wanted to be the salt of the earth.

“Mr. Wakura, could you not forgive Mihori, just this once? There‟s no question that he was guilty, but surely he would never do such a thing again. Please! His mother has come with him to apologise too. Please forgive him.” “You‟re a little late in coming to apologise. If he was really prepared to admit his guilt, he would have come to my house the next day. There are plenty of places where you can get a job, Mihori. You had better give up now and go home.” Wakura put his hand on the door to shut it. Nobuo became desperate. “Mr Wakura!” Nobuo suddenly knelt and placed his hands on the porch step, his head bowed. Mihori and his mother joined him, kneeling on the step. “...Mr. Wakura, if Mihori can‟t be forgiven, dismiss me with him. But won‟t you help him, just this time?” (Miura, 2004:205-206)

It appears that Nobuo had done very precisely according to what he had read.

Even a tough character like Reinosuke Wakura was eventually absorbed to his earnest request to pardon Mihori. Wakura received order to move to Asahikawa, and he decided to bring Mihori with him; thus giving back Mihori‟s job only now the host city changed.

“Nagano, you are an amazing person. First of all you turn down my daughter Misa, who is a strong girl and would probably bear you I don‟t know how many children, to wait for some girl who may never recover. That‟s surprising enough in itself, but then you go and surprise me again. You, a man of samurai stock, prostrating yourself on my front step, pleading for that half-baked Mihori, and on top of that saying that you would leave your job if he did, you

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completely astonished me... I‟ve been busying myself a little. Nagano, Mihori is going with me to Asahikawa... The order for him to move has been issued” (Miura, 2004:209).

Wakura‟s remark highlight one more important thing besides Mihori‟s being pardoned. It was the proposal of marriage turned down by Nobuo previously. The writer had discussed about it in the analysis of the first problem formulation that his love to Fujiko did not waver just because a healthier and better-looking girl was offered to him to be his wife. Moreover, she was the daughter of his superior whom, as a result, he could possibly expect promotion in the office from.

However, it was actually not as impeccable as it appeared to be. Now the writer would like to express his personal admiration to the author of the novel for her deep contemplation in the Christian-in-action subject. Nobuo might have done a very amazing deed and he succeeded to convince Wakura that Mihori could be a better employee once his mischief had been forgiven. Yet, there was one enemy

Nobuo had to stand up against. It was, again, his problem with righteousness.

Nobuo was asked by Reinosuke Wakura to come with him to Asahikawa, for the boss needed an employee as qualified as Nobuo there. However, there was another reason.

“You know, you have responsibility to Mihori. I don‟t like to remind you, but after what you have said I have a feeling you yourself ought to keep an eye on him. Think about it, will you?” (Miura, 2004:210)

Leaving his dearest Fujiko in Sapporo, Nobuo fulfilled his superior‟s request.

He was transferred to Asahikawa to be the neighbor of troublesome Mihori, at the

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behest of his superior on one hand and on the other hand to do what he believed a good Christian had to do, according to the passage he had chosen to follow.

Nobuo was earnest in his moving to Asahikawa to be the neighbor to Mihori, to make sure that he would be a better person. However, he could not resist temptation to think that he had been a somewhat esteemed person that so far he had been able without failure to follow what was said in the passage. Moreover, the person he left in Sapporo, Fujiko, was actually the one who needed more his presence than Mihori. Yet, Fujiko still had her mother and her older brother,

Yoshikawa, to look after her, and they were no less affectionate than Nobuo. This thought was irresistible, especially when the half-drunk Mihori accused Nobuo that the reason Nobuo was also transferred to Asahikawa was mainly to keep an eye on him. Mihori was mad and told Nobuo that he had made a fool on him.

Mihori would not, he said, steal any pay packet again even if Nobuo or anybody else weren‟t watching. (Miura, 2004:221)

“Mihori, it was very impertinent of me. I was conceited and thought that somehow or other I could elevate and change your character. When you first came to this house and angrily told me not to make a fool of you, I had no intention of doing so. But I see now that I was really looking down on you. Please forgive me” (Miura, 2004:227).

Thus, Nobuo‟s speech for his confession of faith included the testimony that he had been too weak to be easily led to believe that he had been the good

Samaritan, while he was actually the wounded person. The writer believes that if

Nobuo could think as far as that, it was sure he had delved deeply in his faith actualization, inspired by nothing else but God. Now that he had realized he was

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weak, he needed The Lord to be his Shepherd and freely submitted himself to the union with the Church.

Now that Nobuo had accepted Christ as his Savior, he considered every good thing came from The Lord and he was just His instrument. His selfishness was no more. However, one slight „complication‟ appears in the novel, when Nobuo has already been a Sunday School Teacher and, imagining the figure of a teacher who teaches children about Christianity, one would surely suppose that his Christian quality has developed more, for it is far more dangerous to teach children sensitive subjects like religion because they will likely believe whatever taught to them The „complication‟ is called so, for it may potentially destroy all the arguments previously built regarding Nobuo‟s problem with righteousness.

However, the writer found it not so. Instead, it implies one more thing related to

Nobuo‟s anxiety over the question of death and the power to live.

The „complication‟ began with the visit of Nobuo‟s cousin, Takashi, to

Asahikawa, with Yoshikawa keeping him company. They went first to the church where Nobuo taught Sunday School children. Afterwards, they went to Nobuo‟s house and had a light conversation together. Nobuo was happy to hear good news from Tokyo; that his mother was all well, Machiko‟s child had grown up, and

Kishimoto, Machiko‟s husband, always took great care of Kiku.

Asahikawa was unusually hot at that time, yet inside the room where the three sat the tension was hotter. Takashi raised the important subject, the reason of which he came to Hokkaido to see Nobuo. He said that Nobuo had to consider his position as the head of Nagano family and observe his obligation to provide heir

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for the household. In other words, Takashi offered himself to look for a bride for

Nobuo, though he knew what happened between Nobuo and Fujiko and how

Nobuo had detailed his plan to marry Fujiko to his mother in the letter he wrote her to ask her blessing before he made his confession of faith. Nobuo refused, telling his cousin he had decided for himself whom to marry.

“Huh, I know, I know. The sister of Mr Yoshikawa here. But, look here, I met her in Sapporo and she‟s got lung TB, and on top of that, spinal YB. It‟s sad, but she won‟t recover. Mr Yoshikawa isn‟t a person not to understand such things. Surely you are not intending to wait for a woman who will never get better?” “Cousin Takashi, Fujiko is certain to get better. I‟m sure she is going to become strong.” “Huh, the God of Yaso must really answer your prayers!” “Christianity is not a religion for personal advantage. But she will surely recover. And she doesn‟t have to get better. If she never recovers, I‟ll just not marry.” “You fool, that‟s no way to talk,” said Takashi without restraint. “Yes, I‟m a fool. Truly, I want to be a fool for Christ” (Miura, 2004:234).

The writer dared not go as far as to resort to a wild speculation that Nobuo would really never marry anyone should Fujiko die; for according to Nobuo‟s own words, he was alright with being a fool for Christ). The writer instead found that beneath Nobuo‟s earnestness to wait for Fujiko‟s recovery, he was very strongly convinced that God would answer the prayers.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you…” (Matthew 7:7) does not refuse even the prayer asking something almost impossible to fulfill. The verse makes it clear that God does not limit to what extent we are allowed to ask Him through prayers. Just one thing

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every Christian has to remember that in The Lord‟s Prayer it runs „Thy wilt be done on earth as it is in heaven.‟ The Lord‟s, not ours, will is what to be done.

When Nobuo, still a gentile, knew from Yoshikawa that Fujiko was a

Christian, he learnt how Fujiko endured her hardship. Fujiko had a kind of strong willpower to stay alive, inspired (or rather motivated) by the „real reassurance‟ she found written in the Bible. Now that he himself had been converted to

Christianity, Nobuo shared the same „real reassurance‟ that if it was the will of

God, Fujiko would surely recover.

“Nagano, this is a good opportunity to tell you something, as Fujiko‟s brother. I‟m very grateful to you for your feelings towards her. But as your friend, I can‟t just leave it at that. I feel sorry for Fujiko, yes, but I want you to be really happy.” “Don‟t suggest anything so despicable it upsets me,” said Nobuo sharply. … “Yoshikawa, it‟s no good talking. This fellow‟s mother left even her child and her home for the sake of Yaso. He inherits his mother‟s stubbornness. Mere words will not do any good.” After this Takashi looked long and fixedly at Nobuo‟s face (Miura, 234-235).

Takashi at last gave up his effort, yet after stating that Nobuo inherited his mother‟s stubbornness. Kiku left Nagano house for her faith. She was sure that

Nobuo would be safe in God‟s hands, though she knew too well that it was not the right time to leave the infant under no motherly care. Nobuo also risked everything now. If he produced no child, it would be the end of Nagano house.

He, too, was always in danger of being infected. Moreover, Asahikawa had a more severe weather than that of Sapporo. It might affect Nobuo‟s performance at work and trigger dissatisfaction of his superior. Nobuo could also spend more than he earned for Fujiko‟s medication – his finance was also at stake. Yet, against all

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odds, Nobuo believed that God would provide all that were needed for Fujiko‟s recovery. Death or alive was not important for him. What he relied on was the power to live and the promise of salvation for those who believed in Christ.

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” (Matthew 6:33) may refer to, in the novel, what Nobuo has earnestly managed for, which is Fujiko‟s recovery. Nobuo, despite all works in the office and his other activity as the Sunday School principal of the young

Asahikawa church, Nobuo always opened his door and made time for Bible study with those who wanted it, especially young men returning from Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905). They celebrated the victory over the Czar‟s army but many of them returned home with a serious thought over life and death. They joined the

Asahikawa Bible Study and Nobuo gained popularity as a man whose face

„seemed to glow with light.‟ Though they found it hard to understand the inside of the Bible, just looking at Nobuo‟s face gave them peaceful air and motivation.

Nobuo had become the instrument of God to bring to Him the lost and seeking souls. And this he did with happy heart, though he consequently had little time for himself.

God was indeed the God of His words. Seeing that Nobuo valued the Kingdom of God more than anything else, He added the others to Nobuo. First, Nobuo was promoted to be general manager of the Asahikawa transport office and, second, after five years, Fujiko‟s health rapidly recovered that no-one would believe she had been previously a bed-ridden invalid (Miura, 2004:235-236).

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Nobuo‟s devotion to Christ was indeed a very determined commitment that renewed his life. His attachment to Jesus Christ as his Savior had put away all that in the past bothered him, especially the matter of death. His faith in Christ had given him a real reassurance that there was nothing to worry with Christ beside him. The moment he was baptized was also the moment he left all that bound him to worldly interests and he was ready to actualize his Christian faith in an uncompromising Christian discipleship, which will be explained in the next analysis of this study.

C. The Uncompromising Christian Discipleship of Nobuo Nagano

Based on the analysis of the first and second problem, the analysis of the third problem uses all the findings in the previous analyses. The main character of the novel, Nobuo Nagano, has undergone a process to his Christian conversion in his character development that begins with the rejection towards Christianity then followed by the compromise and, eventually, his conversion to Christian faith.

In actualizing his Christian faith, Nobuo did it „unconsciously‟ at first, when his baptism had not taken place yet. Rather than inspired by the words of God, he was motivated by other people around him, notably Osamu Yoshikawa and

Fujiko. Yoshikawa‟s personality influenced Nobuo and he led his life as straightly as possible, including avoiding red light district to have fun with geishas. Thus, he kept himself away from committing adultery. Fujiko gave Nobuo motivation to be the companion of the wounded – apart from affection he felt towards the girl. It echoed Christian‟s option for the poor attitude which later on he actualized, after

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his conversion, by being a neighbor for his troublesome colleague, Minekichi

Mihori.

His baptism, indeed, became a motivation for Nobuo to utterly give himself to whatever duty God assigned him. It was a „conscious‟ actualization. The

„unconscious‟ actualization built a very strong foundation for his faith, so that in living his Christian faith later on Nobuo did not stay in the shell but went out. He founded a Bible Study Group in Asahikawa and counseled young men who wished to study the Bible. So restless and tenacious was he in committing himself to give his powers for the works of God among his fellow Christians that he became indispensable, both in his office and the Sixth Avenue Church, in which he became the principal of its Sunday school (Miura, 2004:235-236).

The writer uses a theory regarding Christian discipleship to analyze the second problem formulation of how Nobuo‟s faith could make him sustain the hardships as a Christian among intolerant society, one which he once belonged to. It is taken from the book written by a German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, entitled The

Cost of Discipleship.

Bonhoeffer was a German theologian living in the era of Hitler‟s Third Reich regime. At that time it was obliged that all elements in the country gave their avowed loyalty to the fuehrer, including clergymen. Bonhoeffer was an exception.

Unlike his contemporaries, he did not flee from Germany but instead he stayed.

He thought that he did not deserve to take part in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war unless he shared trials with his fellow Christians in the country (Bonhoeffer, 1963:16).

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Comparing Bonhoeffer and Nobuo Nagano, there can be found similarties.

Historically they lived in the era when Christianity was seen as a threat, or something that unfitted the society (of the government‟s design, in Bonhoeffer‟s case). Religious intolerance in Japan, as seen in Shiokari Pass, and the oppression of the NAZI regime towards the Church in Germany are indeed „unhealthy‟ for

Christians to do their religious activities. Both Bonhoeffer and Nobuo lived in hard times yet both of them had the same mission to accomplish. It was the survival of Christian faith. By doing so, it was absolutely demanded from them that they did not leave the arena. They did not.

G. Leibholz in his memoir to Bonhoeffer said that the latter had made up his mind not to escape Germany when the war seemed inevitable, though friends had managed to get him out of the country and provided a safe haven abroad. He did not want to abandon his fellow Christians in Germany for the sake of his own safety. He would not leave them when they needed him most.

The reasoning which brought Bonhoeffer to his decision belongs, as Reinold Niebuhr says, “to the finest logic of Christian martyrdom.” “I shall have no right,” Bonhoeffer wrote to Niebuhr before leaving America, “to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people… Christians in Germany will face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive, or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying our civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose; but I cannot make this choice in security” (Bonhoeffer, 1963:16).

As for the case of religious intolerance in Japan that victimized Christianity, the reason can be seen in Hamish Ion‟s American Missionaries, Christian Oyatoi,

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and Japan, 1859-73 the anti-Christians reasons of why Christianity should not exist in Japan. Japanese Christians were despised because of its foreign flavor.

Since the ancient times, Shintoism had been the native religion of Japan and it belongs exclusively to Japanese people, meaning that it is a non-proselytizing religion, like Jewish religion for Jews only. Shinto worship emphasizes the importance in honoring the spirits of the ancestor, the kami. There was an event when the divine power of kami demonstrated itself to protect Japan and wiped away dangerous threats from the exterior. It was the destruction of Mongolian invading fleet in the 13th century, caused by violent storm at sea when it was en route to Japan. It was believed to be the storm sent by the wind kami or kami-kaze as the answer of prayers that had been offered in the Grand Shinto Shrine of Ise.

Approximately one hundred thousands soldiers perished, sparing only three

Mongolians alive (Kato, 1973:52). The victory without war by the help of the kami was then seen as the evidence that the Japanese would always have their kami to look after the country. Japan, therefore, needed not foreign gods, so

Nobuo‟s grandmother, Tose, said (Miura, 2004: 37).

Arai Hakusaki, a Tokugawa scholar, said that if state authority was to maintain both territorial integrity and political stability, it had to control people‟s religious lives. Furthermore, Arai asserted the importance of banning outside doctrines potentially harmful for the nation (Ion, 2009:4). On this basis, Christians in Japan were treated hostilely even by their family members (like when Nobuo‟s grandmother banished his mother) because they were seen as some kind of

„traitors.‟ Filial duty was unknown for Japanese people. Their loyalty to the

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emperor (ruler) superseded all (Ion, 2009:5). That was why Christians were more than often left to stand for themselves. In such situation, they only had their fellow

Christians to strengthen each others. Of course, it was unpreventable that among the faithful an inspiring figure that had the flair to be the leader might exist.

Nobuo‟s charismatic personality made him the most respectable among Christians in Asahikawa and it would be a great blow for them if such kind of person should fall into renouncement.

Nobuo Nagano and Dietrich Bonhoeffer are the heroes of their faith. They did not look for safe spots for themselves. Instead, they went out and actualized their faith in Christ. When time was hard for Christians, great heroes of Christianity like the two of them managed to the utmost of their capacities for the faith to survive and flourish. And that would not succeed without sacrifice. They knew it and were ready.

Bonhoeffer wrote The Cost of Discipleship, an interesting work yet at the same time piercing the hearts of those who proclaim that Jesus Christ is their Savior.

From the title of the book itself one can understand the purpose of the book. It tries to reveal that discipleship is not as easy as it sounds. Though Jesus said that

“My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). He mentioned „yoke‟ and „burden‟ anyway. Christ reminded that challenges would always come for

Christians. Whether they are ready or not, it all depends on every one of them.

Bonhoeffer wrote that Christian discipleship was the devotion to Christ and it excluded any idea of discipleship whatsoever, except one which was the conception of following Christ. (Bonhoeffer, 1963:63) There are, therefore, two

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things that build Christian discipleship: utter attachment and obedience to Christ.

Bonhoeffer used the excerpt from Luke 9:57-62 to render Christian discipleship.

He pointed out Jesus‟ remark that no-one was fit for heaven if there was reluctance and conditions. “No man, having put his hand unto the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Christian discipleship thus has an uncompromising nature. No condition, no hesitation; faith and obedience alone can sustain.

As for the second problem formulated by the writer, there is no attempt to distinguish between Christian discipleship and uncompromising Christian discipleship; let us say, in other words, the „ordinary‟ and „extraordinary‟ forms of

Christian discipleship. No, there is not, for Christian discipleship is already the uncompromising one. The other one discipleship whose quality is lesser than the uncompromising Christian discipleship can be termed, in Bonhoeffer‟s word,

“easy Christianity.”

The focus of the analysis of the second problem formulation is therefore about how Nobuo Nagano‟s actualization of his Christian faith reflects the idea of

(uncompromising) Christian discipleship. In the previous analysis his actualization is analogized as a „conscious‟ one because he is inspired primarily by the words of God rather than motivated by other people. Now it is time to see how Nobuo‟s „consciousness‟ evolved into a very strong commitment to follow

Christ whatever it cost. This commitment can be seen through his deeds that this study attempts to prove as the ones embodying the Christian values that

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Bonhoeffer classified as prerequisites for the uncompromising Christian discipleship.

Christian discipleship is related to the act of following Christ without reserve.

There is the call of Christ to respond. It is, however, everyone‟s freedom to give what kind of answer to the call. Jesus said “If any man would come after Me,” and it shows that men are given options, whether or not they will say „yes‟ to the call of the Lord. Discipleship is something crucial, and the disciples must be left to freely make their own decisions before they are told the law of discipleship, which is denying themselves; just like what Jesus said, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself” (Bonhoeffer, 1963:97). Choice is not, as Aristotle said in Magna Moralia, Book I, something made out of a desire but reason instead.

(Stock, 1984:1880) Since it is a crucial thing to opt to follow Jesus, men must know and be sure in what they have chosen for choice, too, lies in matters of action in which there is a consciousness of how far men can go with the option they have chosen. They, too, must know the reason why (Stock, 1984:1881).

Nobuo Nagano‟s life as a Christian was of an opposite background for he was born in a samurai family which held still the old tradition, especially Tose, his grandmother, and, spending his childhood days with his grandmother, Nobuo grew with prejudices towards Christianity. His conversion was, indeed, something he consciously made as a decision. He knew that he would suffer like his mother, whom his grandmother banished because of her Christian faith. Nobuo, by choosing to follow Christ, had „denied himself‟ and was ready to carry his cross.

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The writer, in analyzing the Christian discipleship reflected in Nobuo Nagano‟s

Christian faith and its actualization, uses two elements of discipleship formulated by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship. They are “costly grace” and

“single-minded obedience.” The writer will explain how the two elements work in the main character‟s life in Christ to build on it an uncompromising Christian discipleship.

1. Nobuo‟s Courage in Actualizing His Faith

The analysis of the third problem formulation begins with a brief look on one event in the novel which is the most heroic and moving. It is when Nobuo

Nagano‟s sacrificed his own life to save those of the others. The reason why this scene is presented at the beginning of this analysis is because it is regarded by the writer as the climax of the main character‟s development. This scene will help analyze the third problem formulation regarding the uncompromising Christian discipleship reflected in Nobuo Nagano‟s life as a Christian.

Nobuo‟s engagement to Fujiko was near. Finally his love to the lame girl would move on to the higher state; the engagement. However, it was Nobuo‟s schedule which did not permit him to slow down a little bit. A branch of Young

Railwaymen‟s Christian Association was established in Nayoro and it was impossible for Nobuo not to attend its official opening ceremony on the twenty- seventh day of Feburary. Nobuo would leave for Sapporo the next day, stopping in Asahikawa first to join the Wakuras, his go-between. Mihori would keep him company from Nayoro to Sapporo.

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They both embarked the morning train which took a difficult route. Winter was another challenge as the train dared not move too fast or else something bad would occur. There was nothing wrong with the train until it arrived in the mountainous area at Wassamu. It was snowy and the gradient steep, so that extra caution was maintained to go through the sharp curves cutting the mountains successfully. Unfortunately, the coupling that joined the railcar where Nobuo was in was broken. The railcar gained speed, gradually faster, when it moved backwards down the slope. Everyone was panicked.

Nobuo knew that there was a handbrake to stop the train. Unfortunately, when he moved its wheel, there was no effect. The train‟s speed did drop but it still rolled, aiming for a steep curve fifty yards ahead. Surely the derailment was inevitable if the railcar did not stop. Nobuo got an idea to stop it. He would use his own body.

Nobuo‟s body was drenched with blood as the railcar rolled on his body.

Everyone in the train knew what happened. They were astonished by such a courageous deed. Mihori was among the passengers who witnessed the incident. It shocked him and left a very deep impression. Mihori, an unruly person, a drunkard and an unbeliever, entered Christian faith with other nine railwaymen

(Miura, 2004:259-261, 267).

The writer will not go too far to state that Nobuo had died like Christ. The death of Christ was unmatched, for He died to redeem the sins of the world.

Christians could die for others too, but they would not die the same death as

Christ‟s. In the case of Nobuo, and similarly in other cases which involved

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martyrdoms of the witnesses of Christ, such kind of death nevertheless displayed courage and sureness in faith. Nobuo‟s death which changed the perspective of the society in the novel and inspired new converts was something that simply necessary to occur, for at that time Japan was unfriendly towards Christianity because of its prejudices that undermined the religion, being called disastrous germ, Western poison, and such.

Aristotle defined courage as something that emanated from feeling which instigated an action. It was a spontaneous but not a reckless act, for someone taking the action had already realized the risks (Stock, 1984:1883). The courage of Nobuo Nagano to sacrifice himself was his own realization that following

Christ required a total submission of body and soul, entrusting all of his own to

God‟s care. He simply believed that his sacrifice was part of his faith actualization. As seen in his confession of faith, he was ready to offer his life to

God, no matter what it cost. His sacrifice, however, was not in vain for it helped fertilize the soil for Christian faith to grow.

It was the 28th of May, exactly three months after the accident. Nobuo‟s death had been a shock to the railwaymen, of course, but others had been shocked too. In the bath houses and the barbers‟ shops, talk about Nobuo flourished, and excitement bred greater excitement. “I thought the Yaso were an evil sect, but look how splendidly one of them died. You can‟t say Yaso is a bad religion,” people were saying. At a time when a man had to forfeit his inheritance if he became a Christian, Nobuo‟s death dispelled this ignorance. Not only that – ten railway workers, mostly from Sapporo and Asahikawa, entered the Christian faith together. Among them was Minekichi Mihori (Miura, 2004:267).

Nobuo‟s death, interestingly, if seen through Japanese pattern of thought, had removed the stigma of Christianity and exposed its real virtuous side. At least that

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is what can be seen in the novel when the intolerant society saw how courageously Nobuo put an end of his own life, in order to save the life of the others. Ruth Benedict in Chrysanthemum and the Swords wrote about a duty related to personal honor called giri to one‟s name and one thing that could be done to restore one‟s detracted reputation was to commit suicide. (Benedict,

1974:145) The writer will not go as far as saying that Nobuo‟s death is some kind of religious suicide but, using Benedict‟s study of honor for Japanese people, an analogy can be made to explain the changing perspective of the intolerant society in the novel. With Nobuo‟s death, the „honor‟ of Christian religion was restored.

Its place in the society was exalted.

At the beginning of the novel, before the table of contents, there is a verse from the gospel of John saying that unless a grain falls to the ground and dies, it will not bear fruits but remains alone. (John 12:24) From the verse it is possible that the author of Shiokari Pass seriously pondered the importance of following Christ to one‟s utmost capacity. In other words, the „utmost capacity‟ may refer to death.

Indeed, since the novel begins with such verse then death is given a very special place to explain what message the novel has for the readers to grasp.

In the analysis of the second problem formulation, it can be seen that before he was converted into Christianity, death was too dreadful a subject for Nobuo. He was shocked by two experiences of witnessing the moment death, without warning, seized the lives of his father and his grandmother. Nobuo was bewildered by his own fear towards death; even he had a feeling he himself would not live long. It was all before his conversion took place. One factor he wanted to

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be baptized, though, was because he found a consolation in Christian religion. Yet now in the analysis of the second problem formulation, discussion that circulates around Nobuo‟s death is focused on the elements of Christian discipleship reflected in his Christian faith and its actualization which are “costly grace” and

“single-minded obedience” in order to see why Nobuo‟s Christian life is worthy to be called an uncompromising Christian discipleship.

2. Nobuo‟s Faith in Christ as a Costly Grace

Y. B. Mangunwijaya in Sastra dan Religiositas featured the song lyrics of

Nowhere Man by The Beatles. Especially from the last three lines:

Nowhere Man don‟t hurry Take your time don‟t hurry, leave it all, Till somebody else lend you a hand… (Mangunwijaya, 1988:121)

He argued that, despite the atheistic mood constructing the song (represented by „Nowhere Man‟), there was a subtle irony that suggested the idea which

Christians, as well as Moslems and Jews, had always been adhering to. It is related to the grace of God which was given to men not because it is asked for.

Grace is something unconditionally acquired by men from God. What is needed from men is simply sensitivity to realize that grace really does exist in them and they are willing to receive it (Mangunwijaya, 1988:122). Yet, a problem remains still: what kind of grace is the grace of God?

The novel Shokari Pass by Ayako Miura highlighted a process of Christian conversion followed by faith actualization by its main character, Nobuo Nagano.

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Christianity was the answer of his question over life and death and he was satisfied with the consolation he received through his conversion. However, it was his background and because of the society he lived among which made him realize that the grace he received from his conversion was, in Bonhoeffer‟s words, a costly grace.

Bonhoeffer provided the answer from the problem above; which questions the type of grace given by God. In his The Cost of Discipleship, there are two kinds of grace which are „cheap‟ and „costly.‟ Cheap grace, according to Bonhoeffer, is grace without Jesus Christ because it is devoid of discipleship (Bonhoeffer,

1963:47). As for Christians, without Jesus Christ their faith is, indeed, nothing.

Thus, a cheap grace is not a grace at all. So, the grace of God is nothing else but a grace which is costly. It is so since it calls people to follow the footsteps of Jesus and at it costs people their lives. It, however, gives the only true life, which is the life in Jesus Christ, whose death on the cross has made the grace of God a costly one (Bonhoeffer, 1963:47-48).

No doubt that Nobuo, with his stubborn personality, could be as obstinate as when he still kept his prejudices over Christianity and saw no need to be baptized like his mother and younger sister. His adherence to Christ and how he valued more the fulfillment of the words of God in his daily life than his own importance and, even, his own life, could be seen through his sacrifice to save the life of other passengers. The day before he died, he attended the opening of the Nayoro branch of Young Railwaymen‟s Christian Association and gave impassioned address.

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“Together, let us take our lives, which we can never live again, and let them burn as we live. Let us proclaim the words of Christ and reflect His light. Let us not pass our days in idleness but gain the victory over ourselves. If it be necessary, let us be ready at any time to give our lives for God” (Miura, 2004:254).

Nobuo‟s death showed that he was not devoid of the quality of his words.

Looking back to his childhood days, he was taught by his grandmother that it was important for a samurai to observe the duty towards personal honor, called giri to one‟s name. This act includes defending one‟s reputation in profession or craft and showing stoicism in pain (Benedict, 1974:145). The writer wonders whether or not Nobuo‟s faith would have been different had he not been a samurai and therefore knew nothing about the codes of virtue that a samurai had to observe. It is, of course, not necessary to be prolonged here yet Nobuo‟s childhood upbringing did contribute on building his character as a stout and uncompromising person when it came to something he believed in. He strongly believed that faith in Christ could sustain his life that gave him courage to act as the tool of God in the world. It should not be misunderstood as a pursuit to survive the hardship of living among intolerant society but it instead was courage of the witness of Christ who ceaselessly did the works of God without fear of what would happen to his life.

When someone has already accepted Christ as savior, the most important thing is what will happen after instead of in this life. Salvation is grace that is acquired by those who believe in Christ but, Bonhoeffer insisted, the grace that Christians received was costly.

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To see how costly the grace that Nobuo received, it is reflected in his confession of faith. Hes wrote that he had fallen to believe that by helping Mihori he had become like the Good Samaritan in the parable. This thought, wrote he, had made him sin greatly for he had taken away the rightful place of God as actually the Good Samaritan. He knew it eventually that his sins had nailed Christ to the cross. (Miura, 2004:227) Even by thinking like that, a sin was already committed. Believing in Christ alone, as Kazuma Iki said to Nobuo, was not enough without admitting that he, too, nailed Christ to the cross (Miura,

2004:200). So, if it is understood that believing in Christ and accepting Him as savior can activate the opus operatum of grace, it is not a grace at all.

Bonhoeffer quoted the Bible, from Mark 1:17 and John 21:22, the parts of which Peter heard Jesus said to him “Follow Me.” Bonhoeffer pointed out the two calls on separate occasions as the way grace was bestowed by Christ Himself to his disciple to follow Him and yes; Peter died the death of a martyr. (Bonhoeffer,

1963:48-49) What makes this part of the discussion over costly grace interesting is that the calls can be interpreted as the opportunity for the sinners to atone for their misdeeds. It is by receiving the grace of Christ which is costly. Peter was invited to martyrdom for the Lord he had denied. (Matthew 26:75) Now this is the same situation like Nobuo‟s. Though he admitted to Kazuma Iki that he had been interested in Christianity for a long time, it was his prejudices that put the barrier between him and the grace he was to receive from God.

“My father and mother, my sister and her husband, and…the girl I hope to marry, they are all Christians. I have had an interest in Christianity for a long time.”

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A few days before, Fujiko had said, “I don‟t think reverence for our ancestors need be shown by praying before the Buddhist altar. If we can live each day in a way that our ancestors would approve, that surely is a true act of respect.” Her words had remained in Nobuo‟s mind (Miura, 2004:200).

Fujiko‟s remark the writer regards as implying criticism towards the intolerant

Japanese society seemed to have stripped all the barriers and shown what Nobuo really had been longing for. By baptism Nobuo became a Christian yet the grace he received was a costly grace. His previous life as an unbeliever was a rejection towards Christianity and the grace of God as well. Now that Nobuo had received grace through his conversion, he had to actualize it. He was given opportunity to follow Christ and following Christ meant, as Nobuo himself said to Christian railwaymen in Nayoro, to be ready to give life for God, if necessary.

The call to discipleship is a gift of grace (Bonhoeffer, 1963:55) and grace is something costly. In other words, grace will be stripped off its sacredness unless the receiver values it highly by observing his or her own conducts; whether or not they have been fit for the words of God. Inside the Bible there can be found all that are related to the affairs between God and human beings, as well as between the latter alike. God does therefore abide in one who always heeds whatever is written in the Bible. Discipleship as a gift of grace, therefore, can maintain its essence and significance, so as not to fall into something cheap and worthless that can lead into an „easy‟ Christianity, the opposite of devoted Christianity.

Nobuo Nagano was told that he was also one that nailed Christ to the cross.

Receiving grace from the person he had „killed‟ surely was the most generous gift ever bestowed yet the gift was an invitation to follow the way of Christ without

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hesitation. Those who suffer themselves to look back are not suitable for the

Kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). Nobuo‟s life as a Christian was an utter devotion to

Christ and he had freed himself from all selfish needs. He had given his life for

God by directing his life according to God‟s commands in the Bible. Obedience, therefore, and it is a single-minded obedience, is essential in Christian discipleship.

3. Single-Minded Obedience in Nobuo‟s Actualization of His Christian Faith

The writer continues with the analysis on Nobuo‟s actualization of his

Christian faith and it is to show how his faith actualization reflects Dietrich

Bonhoeffer‟s concept of single-minded obedience. Nobuo‟s faith actualization spans from the time he was baptized to his death or, more precisely, the way he died.

Like what Bonhoeffer said about discipleship as a gift of grace and since

Christ‟s grace itself is a costly grace, Christian discipleship demands a very strong commitment that ensures the willingness to follow Christ even if it leads to inconvenient situation. Bonhoeffer thus emphasized the importance of the presence of single-minded obedience for every Christian to possess.

Nobuo‟s encounter with Kazuma Iki, the open-air preacher, was the first time he learnt the idea that Christ died on the cross because he, too, took part in the conspiracy to nail him on it. Nobuo at first could not get it; how could it be after hundreds of years had passed he had been able to do such a malicious act. It was the problem of knowing one‟s self as a great sinner, said Kazuma Iki, which

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confused anyone who had been looking for Christ for a long time (Miura,

2004:201). A quote from Martin Luther featured in The Cost of Discipleship says pecca fortiter, sed fortius fide et gaude in Christo, “sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ more boldly still” (Bonhoeffer, 1963:55). This is just the description of someone who thinks that sins need not be reckoned in Christian discipleship, for there is an opus operatum of grace that will justify the sins; grace alone does everything. This is just a very, very false perspective.

“…You see, Mr. Nagano, if you do not realize that the problem of sin is your own problem, you cannot understand. Do you see yourself as a great sinner?” “I‟m not very sure,” he said to Kazuma Iki. “I don‟t think I‟m specially bad, but when I read in the Bible where it says, „He who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” I find it a very lofty ethic, beyond my reach, as for the passage, „There is no one righteous; no, not one,” I can understand that, but I don‟t think I‟m so conscious of sin as to admit that I am a great sinner.” “I understand, Mr. Nagano, I tried this myself and I would like you to try it too. I would like you to take any passage of Scripture you like and try to obey it absolutely. It must be perfectly, thoroughly followed. If you do that you will see how far short you fall from being the person you ought to be…” (Miura, 2004:201)

Jesus said that He came not for the righteous but the sinful (Mark 2:17). Since there is no-one righteous, Christ is therefore available for everybody. Yet there are many who do not realize how sinful sort of people they are. Nobuo admitted that he was not so conscious in sin and it was therefore difficult for him to admit that he was a great sinner. Kazuma Iki suggested a way to help Nobuo with this problem. He was instructed to find any passage in the scripture and follow it precisely. Nobuo took the passage of the Good Samaritan parable and he tried to become the neighbor of his troublesome colleague, Minekichi Mihori, despite his

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difficult and uncooperative personality. In his confession of faith Nobuo expressed his consciousness of how sinful he was, after trying to obey the passage he chose, because he felt he had taken away the rightful place of the Lord and instead thinking of himself as a Good Samaritan while actually he in his pride was the wounded person (Miura, 2004:227).

As for his sacrifice that saved other people‟s lives, the writer is sure enough to state that it is the conclusion of Nobuo‟s earnest effort to follow the path of Christ to the utmost of his capacity. It is some kind of honor for, having realized that he was a great sinner, how worthy he was, actually, that he was given chance to give life for God and die like Jesus? Just like what Bonhoeffer said about costly grace, the single-minded obedience as a response to the call of Jesus that tear down the barrier (Bonhoeffer, 1963:87) is something that confirms the quality of someone‟s faith who regards the grace he received from God as a duty to be the witness of the Lord. The absence of single-minded obedience is a perversion of costly grace of the call of Jesus. (Bonhoeffer, 1963:92)

When Nobuo‟s mother was given two alternatives, either leaving Nagano house or renouncing her faith and she could stay, she chose option number one.

Though she knew that leaving the house meant separation from Nobuo, who at that time was an infant and needed her most, she stuck to what she believed in.

“Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” Kiku pondered these words of Christ, repeating them over and over again. “I believe. Even if it means being killed, I cannot deny Christ,” she thought (Miura, 2004:39).

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Kiku knew that it was the risk Christians had to face when they had decided to follow Christ. Her situation was a consequence she had to take. However, there was something that strengthened her; something that gave her a consolation.

“What does it matter if it‟s hard for the moment? Time will show that this was the right thing to do. Since God is a living God, He will surely care for Nobuo too.” With this thought, Kiku had been able to bear the separation for nearly nine long years, until Tose died (Miura, 2004:41).

Single-minded obedience, like that of Nobuo and his mother, can therefore be seen through determined conducts of a Christian that reflect the effort to obey

God‟s commands without hesitation, like when Jesus called Peter to walk on the water. Should Peter not be wavered by the waves and thunders, he would not have drowned. The call of Jesus, according to Bonhoeffer, had an irrevocable significance so that it would usher a Christian into an actual situation where faith is possible (Bonhoeffer, 2004:91). In the time of distress, when it is almost impossible to make up the situation, is it faith alone which is sustainable? Kiku did not think too long to make up her mind to leave the house and so did Nobuo, who thought nothing but the safety of the other passengers when he jumped in front of the rolling railcar to prevent it from derailment. It was the cost of grace they had received. At the same time, both Kiku‟s and Nobuo‟s uncompromising

Christian discipleships were confirmed.

A Christian who does not carry his cross is worth nothing before Christ

(Matthew 10:38). Cross is the consequence of following Christ but cross itself has a duality of symbolism. In Christianity it can be either death or glory. Jesus died on the cross, which the Romans used to give the most shameful death penalty but

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with His resurrection, the cross had become His insignia. Therefore following

Christ is, indeed, hard but not without good things in return, even if it requires a sacrifice of life. To endure the cross, wrote Bonhoeffer, is not a tragedy but instead it was the fruit of exclusive allegiance to Jesus (Bonhoeffer, 1963:98).

Nobuo had displayed the same courage and confidence like what had been shown by his mother when his grandmother banished him. His single-minded obedience had, in Bonhoeffer‟s word, “made short work of all the barriers.” His faith in Christ by regarding the new life he had acquired through the baptism as a costly grace was manifested in a tenacious devotion to spread the Good News to those who had not known Christ. Nobuo‟s death marked the end of his life but at the same time it was the beginning of an enlightened society. The once intolerant society in the novel had for so long maintained their prejudices towards Christian religion but now, seeing how bravely Nobuo gave his life to save those of the others, they abandoned their prejudices and the “barriers” had been torn.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

The first problem formulation analysis resulted in the characterization of

Nobuo Nagano, more specifically his personalities. The writer found that Nobuo was basically a strong man for since childhood he had been taught to be so. His grandmother was the first to shape Nobuo’s mentality by introducing him to virtues noble men had to possess, one of which was stoicism in pain and hardship.

Thus, in his entire life, Nobuo was always courageous in making his decision, especially when he decided to sacrifice his life in the railway accident.

Though stubborn, Nobuo could be easily moved when seeing other people suffer. He had a compassionate heart; hence his great care to Fujiko and he, too, was a loyal person. Despite Fujiko’s seemingly incurable illness, Nobuo did not leave her. It was as same as when he committed himself to the works of The Lord, no matter how busy he actually was.

Nobuo was also a man of principle who could not betray what he believed to be right. He was serious in this, and his seriousness was what made him a pensive, a deep thinker. He could contemplate over something for a long time, until he got a satisfying answer. His seriousness, too, made him a responsible man for he never neglected his duties to his family, especially after his father’s death. He also was responsible to himself by being absent from vain amusement.

For the analysis of the second problem formulation, the writer starts from the first section of the analysis. Nobuo hated Christianity because of his traumatic childhood experience, when he was left by his mother who did not want to

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renounce her faith. He grew with negative perspective on the religion, but with the death of Tose, his grandmother and the return of Kiku, his mother, he acquired a new perspective on Christianity and no more saw the religion through his own prejudices. Thus he left the stage of rejection and moved to the stage of compromise.

Osamu Yoshikawa and Fujiko, two siblings who were the people outside the family circle closest to him, were the biggest influences too besides his mother.

From Yoshikawa Nobuo learnt how to be a man with dignity and responsibility.

He had become a remarkable fellow and it included his attitude not to get near to vain amusements, like adultery. This is a Christian value he practiced. Nobuo overcame his sexual desires and that made him invulnerable to lust. Therefore, he could not turn away from Fujiko, no matter how unfortunate she was. Though she contracted an infectious disease, Nobuo did not keep his distance. He did whatever he could for Fujiko’s recovery. This, too, is a Christian act, becoming the neighbor of the wounded.

However, all above was something ‘unconscious; though characteristically

Christian. Nobuo had not yet accepted Christ, so he was more self-motivated rather than inspired by the words of God. Yet, it was no doubt that Nobuo had built for his Christian faith a very strong foundation. When he subsequently gave himself to the union with the church, Nobuo actualized his faith in ‘consciously,’ realizing that he was weak, he was helpless, and he was the wounded person at the roadside. He needed God to stay with him, and he believed that in God there was nothing to worry about, including the matter of life and death.

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Nobuo had entered Christian faith with a consciousness that by his hands too

Christ was crucified. Christ has died for the sin of mankind. His blood purifies and His resurrection has broken the power of darkness. Yet, few still realize that their hands are the ones nailing Christ to the cross. Nobuo kept this in a special place in his head and his heart. The grace he received was not a, Dietrich

Bonhoeffer called, cheap grace, but a costly grace. And a costly grace demands something: the utter and uncompromising discipleship.

In the analysis of the second problem formulation, the analysis starts with the description of how Nobuo died. He sacrificed his own life in order to save the others’. As a result, people began to reconsider their perspective towards

Christianity, whether or not Christians worshipped a wicked god, for there was one of them who dared give up his own life in a way one could have never imagined. Nobuo’s death, therefore, changed the perspective of the society in the novel towards Christianity and, not only that, ten people from Sapporo and

Asahikawa including his colleague Minekichi Mihori who, up until he saw by himself how Nobuo died, had been convinced that Nobuo was full of hypocrisy, entered Christian faith.

The consciousness that he did good things for the glory of God, no matter how it cost even if it cost his life, had evolved into something called a Christian discipleship. According to Bonhoeffer, such kind of discipleship was called an uncompromising discipleship.

Christian discipleship is the gift of grace, and grace has to be actualized for it is a gospel that must be sought after. Grace is not conferred to simply be received

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as an opus operatum, something that alone does everything, including freeing the person to whom it is bestowed from sin. Since it is a gospel that must be sought and sought, it is the search of righteousness that eventually the search of God who is the most righteous. In seeking the gospel is when a sinner, not the sin, is justified and deserves salvation.

Nobuo’s endless search for the gospel was marked by his single-minded obedience to follow the words of the Lord, absolutely and precisely. It made him never able to part with Mihori, his troublesome colleague whom he helped so that

Mihori could keep his job. Mihori’s fault, stealing other colleague’s pay packet when he, Mihori and Mihori’s mother begged in front of Reinosuke Wakura’s house, he made also his own that he said it was better to dismiss him too should

Wakura insist to fire Mihori. Since that moment Nobuo felt he had some kind of responsibility towards Mihori even though the move to Asahikawa, following

Mihori and Wakura who had been transferred there, meant leaving his dearest

Fujiko at home. Fujiko, too, suffering from spinal tuberculosis, needed his care most, actually, and who would be eager to part with the beloved one in such a situation? Nobuo did not think so. He was determined that it was to look after

Mihori first which was the best option. God surely would take care of Fujiko – the same conviction held by his Kiku when she had to leave the Nagano house years ago because Tose would never allow a Christian to be a member of her Nagano family. She believed that God, when she was away, would always look after

Nobuo for God was a loving god.

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Nobuo, knowing that in his effort to be the neighbor to his colleague had perverted the role he took, for he thought of himself as the Good Samaritan while

Mihori was the wounded man, realized how sinful he was to have taken away the rightful place of God who alone could be the Good Samaritan. Nobuo was the wounded person, actually. On this basis he wrote his confession of faith and it became his foundation to actualize his Christian faith later on. He tenaciously gave himself to the works of God wherever he could find, even though it gave him little time for himself (e. g. Nobuo had to attend the opening of a new branch of

Young Railwaymen’s Christian Association the night right before his engagement ceremony).

Nobuo’s search for the gospel, by regarding the grace he received through his conversion to Christianity, had brought him to the utmost effort he could do in his

Christian discipleship when he died to save the lives of other passengers in a train accident. This was not to be seen as death similar to the death of Christ that redeemed the sins of mankind, but as a part of faith actualization. Following

Christ no matter what it cost was Nobuo’s intention when he entered Christian faith. He believed that he would risk a lot of things for making such decision. And his Christian identity was a genuine one, indeed.

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