Osamu Dazai's Biography:
Nationality: Japanese.
Place and Date of Birth: June 19th, 1909 in Kannagi, Aomori prefecture, Japan.
Place and Date of Death: June 13th, 1948 in Tokyo, Japan.
Introduction
Dazai Osamu, pseudonym of Tsushima Shūji, was a Japanese author, who is known for his major work, “No longer human,” (Ningen Shikkaku) and “The setting sun” (Shayō). Dazai is believed to be the best fiction author in modern-day Japan by the twentieth century. His works were positively received in Japan since he was considered to be a “pioneer” in fiction writing at the end of World War II. However, his talent is overshadowed by the tragic events that occurred during his life. Many people are intrigued by his novels as he has a semi-autobiographical style and transparency into his personal life in them.
Dazai Osamu Photograph 1948
Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, February 13). Osamu Dazai. Wikipedia. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Dazai
Early Years
Osamu Dazai was born in Shūji Tsushima in Kanagi, in northern Honshu, two years after the Tsushima family residence was completed, where he would spend his early years with thirty other family members.
He was the tenth of eleven children. His father, Genemon, was a wealthy landowner, and he later became involved in politics. Therefore, Dazai mostly grew up in the absence of his father. Her mother, Tane Tsushima, became very sick after the birth of her eleventh child. With his father busy, and his mother sick most of the time, Shuji was always in the company of their family’s maids and workers who were responsible for bringing him up.
Tsushima Shuji (Second from left) in the garden of his family home in Kanagi, c. 1920. Bsd-Bibliophile. (2017, August 29). Dazai Osamu - Pictures. Japanese Literature and Bungou Stray Dogs. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://bsd-bibliophile.tumblr.com/post/164740603615/dazai-osamu-pictures
Shuji graduated from “Kanagi Lower Elementary School” with top grades in his classes. The Tsushima family sent Shuji to “Meiji Higher Elementary School” to further develop his academic skills. He attended this school for about a year.
During his higher elementary school years, his father Genemon died in Tokyo, in 1923, while being treated for influenza in a hospital. A month later, he was accepted into “Aomori Prefectural High school.” During his high school years, he published his literary works in several local literary magazines, such as Shinkiro (Mirage), Seiza (Constellation), and Combo (Youth).
The Tsushima brothers, 1923. Seated, from left to right: Keiji, Bunji, Eiji (Dazai’s third, first and second elder brothers, respectively). Standing: younger brother Reiji, Shuji (Dazai)
Bsd-Bibliophile. (2017, August 29). Dazai Osamu - Pictures. Japanese Literature and Bungou Stray Dogs. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://bsd-bibliophile.tumblr.com/post/164740603615/dazai-osamu-pictures
He entered Hirosaki University's literature department in 1927. He developed an interest in Edo culture and began studying gidayū, which is a form of narration used in puppet theatres.
Around 1928, Tsushima edited a series of student publications and contributed some of his works.
He even published a magazine called Saibō bungei (Cell Literature) with his friends, and subsequently became a staff member of the college's newspaper team and published “Bottomless Abyss.”
He also published a work entitled “A Hereditary Landlord” in a magazine entitled Zahyo (Coordinates), in which he criticized Japanese landlords.
However, it is said his interest in writing decreased earlier as his favourite author, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, committed suicide in 1927. By his death, he started to become interested in alcohol, prostitutes, and marxism. In addition to this, his grades started dropping, and he was failing some classes.
Dazai in 1928
Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, February 13). Osamu Dazai. Wikipedia. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Dazai
On the night of December 10th, 1929, Shuji first attempted suicide. He was unsuccessful during this time, but it would only lead to a series of more suicide attempts. Despite his suicide attempt, he was able to graduate from the University in 1930 and decided to pursue further studies at “Tokyo Imperial University,” where he studied French literature. However, he had some serious mental health problems at the time, which is why he completely stopped studying.
Unable to cope with his studies, he began living with a geisha, Hatsuyo Oyama. Disowned by his family for it, he attempted suicide again by drowning, aged 21, with a bar hostess, named Shimeko Tanabe. She unfortunately died, but he survived through the assistance of a nearby fishing boat. Despite this event, In 1931 he married in a quiet ceremony Oyama Hatsuyo, saying later that it "was truly a shameless, imbecilic time.”
Dazai and Ishihara Michiko at their wedding at Ibuse Masujic house
C A R L O T A. (2021, November 16). ¿Conoces al de la Imagen? él es #OsamuDazai, Pic.twitter.com/fh4k7uo8QW. Twitter. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://twitter.com/car_lotasoriano/status/1460584706790113289?lang=ar-x-fm
Soon after, Tsushima was arrested for his involvement with the banned Japanese Communist Party, and his elder brother, Bunji, cut off his allowance once again. Bunji offered a deal, which consisted that all charges would be dropped and the allowance reinstated yet again if he solemnly promised to graduate and swear off any involvement with the party. Tsushima accepted the offer.
Early literary career
While studying at university, Dazai began to be mentored by a Japanese writer, Masuji Ibuse, who helped him get some works published. He then officially adopted the pseudonym "Osamu Dazai" for writing a short story titled ‘Ressha’ in 1933. It was the first time he used the first-person autobiographical style that became his signature style later.
Ressha Japanese version (No English translation)
Amazon.com: Ressha (Japanese edition) ebook: Osamu Dazai ... (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2022, from https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Osamu-Dazai-ebook/dp/B009IXB1JO
In 1935, it was clear to Dazai that he would not be able to graduate. He failed to secure a job at a Tokyo newspaper. He finished writing ‘The Final Years,’ (Bannen) as his farewell to life and tried to commit suicide again, by hanging, on March 19, 1935. He was unsuccessful once again.
The Final Years" 1st Edition (Japanese)
Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, December 20). The final year. Wikipedia. Retrieved March 18, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Final_Year
Unrelated to his suicide attempts, Dazai suffered from appendicitis and was quickly hospitalized. He was admitted to a hospital, where he developed an addiction to ‘Pabinal,’ a morphine-based painkiller. This prompted the people around Dazai, in October 1936, to have him locked in a mental institution that would help him deal with his addiction.
The treatment lasted a little more than a month, and, during that time, Dazai’s wife was unfaithful to him by sleeping with his best friend, Zenshirō Kodate. Upon finding out about the affair, Dazai confronted his wife and the two attempted to commit suicide together by consuming a large number of sleeping pills. Neither of them died, so they got divorced. However, he quickly got remarried to a middle school teacher named, “Michiko Ishihara.”
Dazai in Funabashi in 1939, at the height of his drug addiction.
Bsd-Bibliophile. (2017, August 29). Dazai Osamu - Pictures. Japanese Literature and Bungou Stray Dogs. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://bsd-bibliophile.tumblr.com/post/164740603615/dazai-osamu-pictures
Ishihara and Dazai had their first daughter in June 1941, called Sonoko (園子). Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Dazai wrote many novels and short stories. His first story, ‘Gyofukuki’ (1933), depicted suicide. Some of his other stories were ‘Dōke no hana’ (‘The Flowers of Buffoonery,’ 1935), ‘Gyakkō’ (‘Against the Current,’ 1935), and ‘Kyōgen no kami’ (‘The God of Farce,’ 1936).
Wartime years
Although Japan entered the Pacific War In December 1941, Dazai escaped being drafted into the army, due to tuberculosis. Not many authors were able to publish their work during this period, but Dazai could publish retellings of stories by Ihara Saikaku (1642–1693), including ‘Udaijin Sanetomo’ (‘Minister of the Right Sanetomo,’ 1943), ‘Tsugaru’ (1944), ‘Pandora no hako’ (‘Pandora's Box,’ 1945–1946), and ‘Otogizōshi’ (‘Fairy Tales,’ 1945).
Dazai’s family could escape unscathed, with a son, Masaki, born in 1944. His third child, daughter Satoko, who later became a famous writer under the pseudonym Yūko Tsushima, was born in May 1947.
Post-war career
In the immediate postwar period, Dazai reached the height of his popularity. One of his most famous post-war works was the depiction of a war-ravaged Tokyo in ‘Viyon no Tsuma’ (‘Villon's Wife', 1947), which narrated the tale of the wife of a poet.
In July 1947, Dazai wrote another masterpiece, named ‘Shayo’ (‘The Setting Sun,’ translated in 1956), which narrated the fall of the Japanese nobility in the post-war era. There is a rumour that it was based on the diary of Shizuko Ōta, who was a fan of Dazai's writings and who first met Dazai in 1941.
He had another daughter, Haruko, with Ōta, in 1947. Following this, Dazai’s mental health started deteriorating and he became an alcoholic. Having been diagnosed with tuberculosis before the war, his health was not improving either. While heavily drinking, Dazai met Tomie Yamazaki, who was a beautician. Tomie had lost her husband after 10 days of marriage. Dazai soon left his wife and children and started living with Tomie.
Picture of Tomie Yamazaki.
Thekimonogallery. (2020, November 23). Thekimonogallery. The Kimono Gallery. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://thekimonogallery.tumblr.com/post/635523732332544000/tomie-yamazaki-1919-1948-about-late-1930s
Dazai began writing his novel Ningen Shikkaku (人間失格, No Longer Human, 1948) at the hot-spring resort Atami. He moved to Ōmiya with Tomie and stayed there until mid-May, finishing his novel. This autobiographical styled novel later became Dazai’s most well-known novel, and even turned into a classic.
In the spring of 1948, Dazai worked on a novelette scheduled to be serialized in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, titled “Guddo bai” (the Japanese pronunciation of "Goodbye"). It was never finished since he successfully committed suicide one last time with Tomie. The two drowned themselves in a nearby river from their home.
Death
Osamu Dazai had tried to take his own life on several occasions, but when he disappeared with Tomie on a rainy night in mid-June of 1948, the signs that he was prepared to die were unmistakable. Dazai and his companion left behind a series of farewell notes to friends. After the police began an intensive search for the couple’s whereabouts, they eventually found a place along the Tamagawa Canal, midway between Dazai’s own home and Tomie’s residence. There were several objects on the ground such as a small bottle or two, a glass plate, a pair of scissors, and a compact. A little way downstream, two pairs of clogs were found against the lock of a dam. Despite these clear signs of suicide, after an intensive search, the authorities weren't able to find anything.
Almost a week later - on June 19, the author’s thirty-ninth birthday - that a passer-by happened to notice two waterlogged corpses in the canal tied together with a red cord. This discovery occurred less than a mile from where the couple had entered the water.
Dazai at the Tamagawa Canal in early 1948, a few months before he drowned in these very waters. Photo by Tamaru Shigeru. https://bsd-bibliophile.tumblr.com/post/164740603615/dazai-osamu-pictures
In popular culture and legacy.
Junji Ito, in May 2017, published a manga adaptation of the Japanese classic “No longer human,” by Dazai Osamu. Written and illustrated by Ito, the series began serialization in Big Comic Original on May 2, 2017. The series completed its serialization on April 20, 2018. Shogakukan collected the series' chapters into three tankōbon volumes.
No longer human: USAMARU Furuya and Junji Ito - manga in your ears (pódcast). Listen to Notes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.listennotes.com/es/podcasts/manga-in-your-ears/no-longer-human-usamaru-bYNn8D1BguJ/
Kurland, D., & Daniel Kurland (1400 Articles Published) Daniel Kurland is a freelance writer. (2020, December 25). No longer human: 10 things you didn't know about the Junji Ito manga. CBR. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.cbr.com/no-longer-human-junji-ito-horro-manga-facts-trivia/
Also, Osamu Dazai has been made into a character in the well-known animation series “Bungou Stray Dogs.” In the show, he has an ability called “No longer human.”
Leshy. (2021, September 13). Story origins: Bungou stray dogs characters authors. Raving Otaku. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://ravingotaku.com/2021/09/story-origins-bungou-stray-dogs-characters-authors.html
To see the biography in a google document with the sources...
To see the list of Dazai's works in a google document with the sources...