Empire of Japan
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Osamu Dazai
Kanagi, Aomori, Empire of Japan
Archival Overview
Major 20th-century Japanese novelist and master of the 'I-novel' (watakushi shōsetsu) whose No Longer Human and The Setting Sun captured post-war existential anguish.
Biographical Record
Osamu Dazai (pseudonym of Shūji Tsushima, 1909–1948) was one of the foremost Japanese novelists of the post-World War II era and a leading figure of the Buraiha (Decadent School). Born into a wealthy aristocratic landowner family in northern Aomori, Dazai struggled with drug addiction, social alienation, and multiple suicide attempts throughout his turbulent youth in Tokyo.
Dazai achieved immense cultural impact with The Setting Sun (Shayō, 1947), capturing the spiritual and financial decline of Japan's post-war aristocracy. His semi-autobiographical masterpiece No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku, 1948)—which opens with the famous line 'Mine has been a life of much shame'—portrayed an alienated protagonist who wears a clownish mask to hide his profound inability to comprehend other human beings. It remains the second best-selling novel in Japanese history.
Key Life Milestones
The Setting Sun Published
Published Shayō (The Setting Sun), so popular that 'people of the setting sun' (shayōzoku) became an official national catchphrase.
No Longer Human Completed
Completed Ningen Shikkaku shortly before drowning himself in the Tamagawa Canal, creating Japan's defining modern classic of alienation.
Memorial Guestbook & Tributes
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialMitaka (Tokyo), Japan