Character Analysis
Oh, Mokichi and Ichizo, we hardly knew ye. Come to think of it, we never actually knew you guys at all. Which is kind of weird. This lack of identity can be directly attributed to Rodrigues's sometimes twisted 'tude towards the Japanese.
To Rodrigues, Mokichi and Ichizo are solely defined by their martyrdom. Mokichi in particular meets his fate with striking dignity—as the two men slowly die, a villager tries "to put the potato she had brought into Mokichi's mouth" but Mokichi demands that she "give it Ichizo" (4.78). Rodrigues is both inspired by this seemingly fearless devotion to Christianity and ashamed that he can't live up to the same standard.
But here's what Rodrigues fails to understand—Mokichi and Ichizo are real people, too. They're not just martyrs, or faceless Others. Rodrigues acknowledges his failure to see the Japanese as individuals, writing that "their names [are] difficult to remember" and "their faces all look the same" (3.5). Similarly, his willingness to let them by martyred for his sake indicates that he values hislife above theirs. Rodrigues's lack of empathy for these guys highlights his Eurocentric worldview, not to mention his growing unease with his own faith.