Introduction -- Christianity and Modern Japanese Literature. The Conflict between Religion and Literature -- Narratives of Conversion. Kitamura Tokoku and the Celebration of the "Inner Life" -- Shimazaki Toson and the Discovery of the Self -- Kunikida Doppo: The Rejection of Self-Deception and the Paradox of Contrition -- Masamune Hakucho: The Fear of Death and the Cruelty of the Christian God -- Arishima Takeo: The Problem of Sin and of the Inevitability of Fate -- The Salvific Discourse of Akutagawa Ryunosuke: Early Exposure to Christianity -- A Christology of the Self: The Case of Mushanokoji Saneatsu -- The Appropriation of Christianity in Narrative: Kinoshita Naoe's Hi no hashira and Nagayo Yoshiro's Seido no kirisuto -- Epilogue: A Poetic Religion, Rife with Paradoxes.