Osamu Dazai

Shūji Tsushima (19 June 1909 – 13 June 1948), known by his pen name Osamu Dazai (太宰 治), was a Japanese novelist and author. A number of his most popular works, such as The Setting Sun (Shayō) and No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku), are considered modern-day classics. His influences include Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Murasaki Shikibu and Fyodor Dostoevsky. While Dazai continues to be widely celebrated in Japan, he remains relatively unknown elsewhere, with only…

Shūji Tsushima (19 June 1909 – 13 June 1948), known by his pen name Osamu Dazai (太宰 治), was a Japanese novelist and author. A number of his most popular works, such as The Setting Sun (Shayō) and No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku), are considered modern-day classics. His influences include Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Murasaki Shikibu and Fyodor Dostoevsky. While Dazai continues to be widely celebrated in Japan, he remains relatively unknown elsewhere, with only a handful of his works available in English. His last book, No Longer Human, is his most popular work outside of Japan.