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Top 10 Interesting Facts about Osamu Dazai

Osamu Dazai. Photo by Shigeru Tamura. Wikimedia

Osamu Dazai (, Dazai Osamu, 19 June 1909 – 13 June 1948) was a Japanese author. Several of his most popular works, including The Setting Sun (Shay) and No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku), are regarded as modern-day classics.

Dazai’s stories have piqued the interest of many readers due to their semi-autobiographical style and transparency into his personal life.

Rynosuke Akutagawa, Murasaki Shikibu, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky are among his influences. While Dazai is still widely celebrated in Japan, he is relatively unknown outside of Japan, with only a few of his works available in English.

His most recent book, No Longer Human, is his best-selling work outside of Japan.

1. Osamu Dazai was also known as Shji Tsushima

Osamu Dazai. Photo by Shigeru Tamura. Wikimedia

Shji Tsushima was his birth name.  Osamu Dazai became his pen name when he started writing. He was the eighth surviving child of a wealthy landowner in Kanagi.

The Tsushima family had obscure peasant origins, with Dazai’s great-grandfather amassing the family fortune as a moneylender and his son expanding it even further.

They quickly rose to power and, after a while, gained widespread respect throughout the region.

2. Osamu Dazai studied literature 

Tsushima began his education at Kanagi Elementary in 1916. He then enrolled  in Hirosaki University’s literature department in 1927.

He became interested in Edo culture and began learning giday, a type of chanted narration used in puppet theaters. Tsushima edited a series of student publications and contributed some of his own works around 1928.

He even co-founded a magazine called Saib bungei with his friends. Later he joined the college newspaper team.

3. Osamu Dazai tried to commit suicide

Dazai met Tanabe Shimeko, a barmaid at Ginza’s Hollywood café. A week after meeting, on November 28, they spent a drunken night at the Teikoku Hotel before attempting double suicide by drowning near Kamakura on the evening of the 29th.

She was successful, while he was not. A passing fishing boat rescued Dazai. He was questioned but released immediately due to his family’s prominence.

4. Osamu Dazai was arrested

Osamu Dazai was arrested soon after for his involvement with the banned Japanese Communist Party. His elder brother Bunji promptly cut off his allowance again.

Osamu Dazai went into hiding, but Bunji managed to get word to him that the charges would be dropped and the allowance reinstated if he solemnly promised to graduate and renounce any involvement with the party. He agreed to the offense.

5. Osamu Dazai published his first work while in University

Osamu Dazai. Photo by 林忠彦.

In contrast to the turmoil of the previous years, Shuji’s life became more peaceful in the following years. While at university, he was mentored by renowned Japanese writer Masuji Ibuse and spent his time honing his craft.

During this time, he was able to have his literary works published thanks to Masuji’s assistance. He was also able to meet more people in the literary community through Masuji, which solidified his status as a budding writer. Shuji spent these years honing his craft.

During this time, he also adopted the pen name “Osamu Dazai,” under which he published Ressha in 1933. This work was crucial for the new Osamu because it was through it that he was able to find his voice. Ressha’s writing style became his signature writing style for subsequent novels – it was an autobiography written in the first person.

6. Osamu Dazai failed to graduate from University

Despite working hard and writing nonstop, Shuji encountered difficulties at university that prevented him from completing his degree. Shuji’s mental health suffered as a result of this realization, and he attempted suicide for the third time.

Shuji hung himself after writing a short story about not being able to graduate and not being able to land a job on the Tokyo Newspaper. The literary work was titled The Final Years, which was an apt title given that Shuji intended it to be his suicide note to the world. His third suicide attempt, like his first two, was also a failure.

7. Osamu Dazai was in a mental institution

Osamu’s health deteriorated a few weeks later, unrelated to the suicide attempt. He was diagnosed with acute appendicitis and was placed on medication. Pabinal, one of the painkillers he was taking, proved to be highly addictive to Osamu. Osamu’s addiction to Pabinal took a toll on his life the following year. He fought the addiction, but he lost most of the time. This prompted those close to Osamu to have him committed to a mental institution to help him deal with his problem.

8. Osamu Dazai & his wife attempted suicide together

Osamu Dazai’s wife Hayuto. Photo from

Hatsuyo (Osamu Dazai’s wife)  became unfaithful while in the mental institution, eventually cheating on Osamu with his best friend, Zenshiro Kodate. When Osamu discovered the affair, he confronted her, and the two attempted suicide together.

The pair attempted to overdose on sleeping pills, but were both unsuccessful. They then filed the paperwork to formally dissolve their marriage. Osamu remarried Michiko Ishihara, a teacher at the time, not long after.

9. Osamu Dazai;The Setting Sun

The popularity of Osamu peaked during Japan’s postwar rehabilitation period. Viyon no Tsuma, set in postwar Tokyo, was his first popular work after the war. The story’s protagonist was a woman who was suffering after the war had left her with nothing. Shayo, also known as The Setting Sun in English, was his next novel.

Shizuko Ota, a Japanese lady who kept a diary of events in her life after the war, had a big influence on his work in The Setting Sun. Shizuko had an affair with Osamu in addition to being a huge fan of him. As a result, Osamu has an illegitimate child with Shizuko.

10. Osamu Dazai killed himself

Osamu Dazai. Photo from

After having a daughter out of wedlock, Osamu’s life began to unravel once more. His mental health deteriorated, and he became an alcoholic. His health was deteriorating as well. He had been diagnosed with tuberculosis prior to the war. In the end, he abandoned both his second wife and his mistress. His next relationship would be his final.

Tome Yamazaki, a beautician in a salon, was the last lady in Osamu Dazai’s life. They began dating and eventually moved in together. During their time together, Osamu wrote his most famous novel, Ningen Shikkaku. He was able to finish the novel before committing suicide one last time with Tome. The two drowned in a nearby river.