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Osamu Dazai

Author

Bio

Author Osamu Dazai (1909–48) retains an enormous following today. He is as famous for his darkly introspective novels as for the light-hearted children’s stories that are a staple of many Japanese textbooks. His novel Shayo has been published in English as The Setting Sun. Son of a wealthy family in northern Japan, Dazai was a top student who showed an early penchant for literary writing. He led a troubled, unstable life and suffered from drug abuse and alcoholism; he attempted suicide and had numerous affairs, even as his literary fame grew. A Shameful Life is said to be a close approximation of his lifestyle and struggles. The protagonist in the novel survives, but shortly after publication of A Shameful Life, Dazai and his lover drowned themselves in the Tamagawa Canal in western Tokyo.

Mark Gibeau is a literary translator and scholar of postwar Japanese literature. His previous translations include fiction by Yasunari Kawabata, Jun’ichirô Tanizaki, Shûgorô Yamamoto, Sakumi Tayama, Mitsuyo Kakuta, Sakyô Komatsu among others. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the College of Asia and the Pacific at The Australian National University, Canberra.

Osamu Dazai Books

The Beggar Student book cover

The Beggar Student

Osamu Dazai
Real Osamu Dazai book cover

Real Osamu Dazai

Osamu Dazai
No Longer Human book cover

No Longer Human

Osamu Dazai
Self-Portraits: Stories book cover

Self-Portraits: Stories

Osamu Dazai
Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human book cover

Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human

Osamu Dazai
The Flowers of Buffoonery book cover

The Flowers of Buffoonery

Osamu Dazai
Early Light (Storybook ND Series) book cover

Early Light (Storybook ND Series)

Osamu Dazai
A Shameful Life book cover

A Shameful Life

Osamu Dazai
Crackling Mountain and Other Stories book cover

Crackling Mountain and Other Stories

Osamu Dazai
No Longer Human book cover

No Longer Human

Osamu Dazai
The Setting Sun book cover

The Setting Sun

Osamu Dazai
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