Osamu Dazai

Osamu Dazai (1909-1948), pseudonym of Tsushima Shuji, was born in Kanagi, studied French Literature at the University of Tokyo, and is one of the great Japanese authors of the 20th century. He soon faced family problems, before his love life and finances, in adulthood, also brought him enormous misfortunes. Of fragile health and with a great propensity for alcohol and morphine use, Dazai found refuge in writing; he would leave us some of the most important texts of Japanese literature of the last century, before committing suicide at the age of 39 by plunging into the Tama River in Tokyo, with Tomie Yamazaki, with whom he shared the last days of his life. In addition to A Man in Decline, his most translated and published novel, many of his books, such as ShayoThey are considered modern classics. Their works are recognized for addressing themes such as human nature, mental illness, social relationships, and postwar Japan.