Goto kuzure 五島崩れ

The book Goto kuzure

Mori Reiko (1928 - 2014) was a Japanese writer. In 1980 (Showa 55) her book Goto kuzure was published. The novel has been summarized by Sachiko Schierbeck in her 1994 book "Japanese Women Novelists, 104 Biographies 1900-1993":

"Gotoo kuzure (The Fall of the Island of Goto, 1980) is infused with Mori's Christian ideals; it is, however, a detached, straightforward, non-moralistic piece of writing, dealing with the ordeals of clandestine Christians during the mid-17th century, when their religion was officially prohibited. Thousands of Christians survived on Goto island, remaining secretly true to their faith for seven or eight generations. The novel focuses on a 16-year-old maiden who is a fervent and conscientious Christian until her fiancé dies just before their wedding. Having lost her faith, she marries a samurai official who is in charge of prosecuting the hidden Christians. She becomes pregnant and is happy and contended, until her brother and others from her home village are captured and put in prison. Her brother is tortured to the point of death, but she manages to share a communion with him just before he dies. She herself dies shortly after the birth of her son, in the arms of her husband, who gives her a Christian burial, laying her body beside that of her late fiancé."

The novel has an image of a Watanabe print inside. Watanabe also made the design for the dust jacket.

The Goto kuzure prints 

In 1979 (Showa 54) Watanabe Sadao made twelve prints to Mori's novel Goto kuzure. There are six small and six large prints on sheets of washi sized 13' x 9' (33 x 23 cm), all stored in a momigami folder.

Translation of the texts: Watanabe Junko 渡辺順子