# Is "Silence" by Shūsaku Endō a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Silence by Shūsaku Endō (Shinchōsha, Tokyo, 1966) is identified by: Japanese true first: Chinmoku (沈黙), Shinchōsha, Tokyo, March 1966. Original-language true first is Shinchōsha (Tokyo, 1966).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Japanese true first: Chinmoku (沈黙), Shinchōsha, Tokyo, March 1966
- The first English translation (William Johnston) was published in Tokyo in 1969 by Sophia University in its Monumenta Nipponica monograph series in cooperation with Charles E. Tuttle Co., 306 pp., issued in hardback and paperback
- Identify the first English printing by the Sophia University / Monumenta Nipponica–Tuttle Tokyo imprint and the 1969 date (there is no number line)
- The first UK edition followed from Peter Owen, London, 1976: publisher's black cloth, gilt-lettered spine, priced jacket present at the flap
- Publisher imprint reads Shinchōsha, Tokyo
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Shūsaku Endō |
| Publisher | Shinchōsha, Tokyo |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Japanese true first: Chinmoku (沈黙), Shinchōsha, Tokyo, March 1966 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Japanese true first: Chinmoku (沈黙), Shinchōsha, Tokyo, March 1966. The first English translation (William Johnston) was published in Tokyo in 1969 by Sophia University in its Monumenta Nipponica monograph series in cooperation with Charles E. Tuttle Co., 306 pp., issued in hardback and paperback. Identify the first English printing by the Sophia University / Monumenta Nipponica–Tuttle Tokyo imprint and the 1969 date (there is no number line). The first UK edition followed from Peter Owen, London, 1976: publisher's black cloth, gilt-lettered spine, priced jacket present at the flap.

## Is this the true first?
Original-language true first is Shinchōsha (Tokyo, 1966). The collectible first in English is the 1969 Tokyo edition (Sophia University / Monumenta Nipponica with Charles E. Tuttle), which precedes the first UK edition (Peter Owen, London, 1976) and all later US trade/paperback issues; it is a genuine first English translation, not a 'first thus.'

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition documented. Later Tuttle/Taplinger printings and the Peter Owen Modern Classics paperback are reprints, not firsts.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Silence* by Shūsaku Endō a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/silence
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.