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Sebastian Rodrigues

A young Portuguese Jesuit missionary and protagonist of the story. A bold and passionately faithful figure, from a young age he devotes his life and purpose to his love, Christ. Rodrigues often imagines himself as a hero-like figure, remaining ever steadfast in his faith. He carries somewhat snobbish and elitist views of his religion and finds it hard to endure the words of his faith in the mouths of crude, uncivilized people. Rodrigues is motivated by his faith above all else and stubbornly persists in his devotion.

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Kichijiro

A young Japanese fisherman who apostatizes against the Catholic faith in Japan and becomes a wanderer. Kichijiro is a foil to Rodrigues’s character. Having witnessed countless tragedies against the Japanese Catholic peasants at the hands of the samurai, including against his own family, Kichijiro is motivated to stay alive above all else. Seen by Rodrigues as a coward with weak character, Kichijiro has a drinking problem and is lazy at work. Despite his flaws, Kichijiro is pleasant and always smiling. He is also dogged in his pursuit of forgiveness and is attached to Rodrigues for this purpose.

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Christóvão Ferreira

A revered Portuguese Jesuit missionary who has gone missing after thirty-three years of service in Japan and is rumored to have apostatized. Ferreira was a highly respected theologian and respected member of the Catholic Church, even being recognized by the church in Rome for his exemplary intellect and service. Ferreira was Rodrigues’s teacher in the seminary.

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Inoue

The newly-elected magistrate of Japan who has a reputation for being especially brutal toward Christians. Valignano calls him “cunning as a serpent” and the architect of some of the most heinous forms of torture ever devised. Inoue is the antagonist of the story. Ironically, he is a former Catholic and was even baptized. Inoue’s Buddhist background allows him to be emotionally detached and even sympathetic to Rodrigues’s plight. A shrewd politician and strategist, he is concerned with preserving Japan among competing trade relations with various European countries and views the Catholic Church as a nuisance.

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Francisco Garrpe

Another Jesuit missionary who is motivated to find the truth about Father Ferreira, a priest who has reportedly renounced his faith under pressure. Garrpe is Rodrigues’s companion to India. A positive and optimistic person, Garrpe frequently tries to make light of dire situations to keep hope alive and give him and Rodrigues hope. Less egotistical than Rodrigues, Garrpe worries frequently about the lives of the Japanese peasants and how his and Rodrigues’s presence is negatively impacting them.

The Interpreter

A Japanese samurai who spent time in a Portuguese Jesuit college in Japan. He is in charge of negotiating Rodrigues’s apostasy after Rodrigues is imprisoned. The Interpreter’s motivations are to be a learned man of the world, not to be a brother; it’s for this reason only he attended the Jesuit college. The Interpreter is soured after his experience in the seminary, holding the Jesuit priests in contempt for their utter derision and judgmental views of the Japanese. Despite his contempt, the Interpreter remains somewhat neutral and detached from Rodrigues.

Juan de Santa Maria

One of the three Jesuit priests along with Rodrigues and Garrpe who intends to go to Japan to find out what happened with their teacher, Father Ferreira. De Santa Maria falls ill and cannot make the journey. Holding a somewhat patronizing view of the Japanese Catholic peasants, he worries they are lost without their Jesuit priest “shepherds.”

Mokichi

A young Japanese Catholic peasant from Tomogi. Mokichi is the picture of dignity, grace, and composure under pressure. His sacrifice and martyrdom challenge Rodrigues’s faith.

Ichizo

A Japanese Catholic peasant man of fifty years old from Tomogi. Rodrigues describes him as always having an angry look on his face, but Ichizo is actually just eternally curious and scrutinizing everyone’s movements. As a Tossama, or substitute priest, Ichizo wants to learn how to mimic or imitate Rodrigues and Garrpe. He becomes a martyr alongside Mokichi.

Omatsu

Ichizo’s older sister. She lost her husband years prior and is devoted to taking care of her brother. She carries food up to Rodrigues and Garrpe’s hut every day. Omatsu shares her brother’s curious nature.

Monica

A Japanese Christian prisoner whom Rodrigues meets once he is betrayed by Kichijiro and captured. She is in the same prison as Rodrigues. Monica’s torture is used to provoke Garrpe and Rodrigues to apostatize.

One-Eyed Man

Another Japanese Christian prisoner whose torture is also used to provoke Garrpe and Rodrigues to apostatize. A friendly man, he suffers from deterioration in one eye. His death makes Rodrigues continue to seriously question his faith in God.

Valignano

A Jesuit priest who founded a college in Macao for missionaries going to China and Japan. He is strongly against letting Rodrigues go to Japan and wants to remain prudent.

Magoichi

One of the Tossama, or substitute priests, in Tomogi. He helps build Rodrigues and Garrpe’s hideout in the charcoal hut.

Jonassen

A Dutch clerk living in Nagasaki in 1644. His diary entries form the last chapter of the book.

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