See Also: Dazai, Osamu(encyclopedia)

Dazai, Osamu (sh)




orig. Shuji Tsushima

born June 19, 1909, Kanagi, Aomori prefecture, Japan
died June 13, 1948, Tokyo

Japanese novelist.

At the end of World War II he emerged as the literary voice of his time, capturing the period of postwar confusion when traditional values were discredited. The son of a wealthy landowner and politician, he often used his background as material in his fiction. Tsugaru (1944) is perhaps his best novel. His postwar works
The Setting Sun (1947), Villon's Wife (1947), and No Longer Human (1948)
were increasingly despairing in tone, reflecting the crisis that led to his suicide at age 38.