Giuseppe Chiara


Giuseppe Chiara was an Italian Jesuit missionary active in 17th century Japan.
Chiara was born in Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily. He entered Japan at a time when Christianity was strictly forbidden, in an attempt to locate fellow priest Cristóvão Ferreira who had apostatized his Christian faith due to torture by Japanese authorities in 1633.
After the Shimabara Rebellion in 1638, Chiara arrived on the island of Oshima, but was arrested in June 1643 and then incarcerated at a prison named Kirishitan Yashiki in Edo. He also was tortured and eventually became an apostate as well. He later married a Japanese woman, taking the name of her late husband, Okamoto San'emon, and lived in Japan until his death on 24 August 1685 in Edo, at the age of 83. His remains were cremated.

In popular culture

Chiara was the historical basis for the lead character of Sebastião Rodrigues in the novel Silence by Shūsaku Endō. He was portrayed by David Lampson in the 1971 film version and by Andrew Garfield in the 2016 film version.