Osamu Dazai

Known For
Writing

Popular
3.183

Birthday
1909-06-19

Place of Birth
Aomori Prefecture, Japan

Also Known As

  • 太宰治

Osamu Dazai

Biography

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.