The Eyes of Asia

In 1582, four young Catholic seminarians from Nagasaki, Japan, set out on a long journey to Lisbon and Rome, for a convocation with Pope Gregory XIII to whom they relate the conversion of the Japanese people. Juliao, Mancio, Miguel and Martinho return to Japan having carried out their mission as priests--earthly disciples of Jesus. However, forty years later, the Shogun outlaws Catholicism following rumors that dangerous individuals, hungry for conquesting the empire, are using Christian faith as a cover. Several priests decide to flee Japan, others continue to teach clandestinely--however none of the seminarians are successful in escaping the horrific tortures and religious intolerance facing "men-of-the-cloth" who refuse to renounce their faith.