Osamu Dazai

His last book, No Longer Human, is his most popular work outside of Japan. Another pseudonym he used was Shunpei Kuroki (黒木 舜平), for the book Illusion of the Cliffs (断崖の錯覚, Dangai no Sakkaku).

• Name — Osamu Dazai • Birth Name — Shūji Tsushima • Born — 19 June 1909 • Birthplace — Kanagi, Aomori, Japan • Died — 13 June 1948 • Place of death — Tokyo, Japan • Notable Works — * "Run, Melos!" (1940) • Otogi-zôshi (1945) • The Setting Sun (1947) • No Longer Human (1948)

• Illustration — Dazai in a high school yearbook photo Shūji Tsushima was born on 19 June 1909, the eighth surviving child of a wealthy landowner and politician in Kanagi, located at the northern tip of the Tōhoku Region, in Aomori Prefecture. He was the tenth of the eleven children born to his parents. At the time of his birth, the huge, newly completed Tsushima mansion, where he spent his early years, was home to some thirty family members. The Tsushima family came from humble peasant origins. Dazai's great-grandfather built up the family's wealth as a moneylender, and his son increased it further. They quickly rose in power and, after some time, became highly respected across the region. Dazai's father, Gen'emon, was a younger son of the Matsuki family, which, due to "its exceedingly 'feudal' tradition," had no use for sons other than the eldest son and heir. As a result, Gen'emon was adopted into the Tsushima family to marry the eldest daughter, Tane. He became involved in politics due to his position as one of the four wealthiest landowners in the prefecture, and was offered membership of the House of Peers. This caused Dazai's father to be absent during much of his early childhood. While his mother Tane was ill, Dazai was raised mainly by his aunt Kiye along with the family’s servants, and was molested by multiple of the latter.

In 1916, Dazai began his education at Kanagi Elementary. On 4 March 1923, his father Gen'emon died from lung cancer. A month later, in April, Dazai moved to Aomori Junior High School, followed in 1927 by Hirosaki Higher School, a university preparatory school. He developed an interest in the culture of the Edo period and began studying gidayū, a form of chanted narration used in bunraku. Around 1928, Dazai edited a series of student publications and contributed some of his own works. He also published a magazine called Saibō Bungei (Cell Literature) with his friends, and subsequently became a staff member of the college's newspaper. Dazai's success in writing was brought to a halt when his idol, the writer Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, committed suicide in 1927 at 35 years old. Dazai started to neglect his studies, and spent the majority of his allowance on clothes, alcohol, and prostitutes. He also dabbled in Marxism, which at the time was heavily suppressed by the government. On the night of 10 December 1929, Dazai made his first suicide attempt by overdosing on Calmotin, but survived and was able to graduate the following year. In 1930, he enrolled in the French literature department of Tokyo Imperial University. Dazai knew no French when he elected this course (and apparently, through a complete neglect of his studies, never learned more than a few words), but at the time French literature was the chosen field of many young Japanese. In October, he ran away with a geisha named Hatsuyo Oyama and was formally disowned by his family. In 1930, ten days after he was suspended from Tokyo Imperial University for non-payment of fees, Dazai attempted double suicide by drowning off a beach in Kamakura while simultaneously overdosing on Calmotin, with a 19-year-old bar hostess named Shimeko Tanabe. Tanabe died, but Dazai lived. He was rescued by the crew of a fishing boat, and was charged as an accomplice in Tanabe's death. Alarmed by the events, Dazai's family intervened to stop the police investigation. His allowance was reinstated, and he was released without any charges. In December, he recovered at Ikarigaseki and married Hatsuyo there.

In 1929, when the principal of Hirosaki Higher School was found to have misappropriated public funds, the students, under the leadership of Ueda Shigehiko (Ishigami Genichiro), leader of the Social Science Study Group, staged a five-day strike, which resulted in the principal's resignation and no disciplinary action against the students. Dazai hardly participated in the strike, but in imitation of the Japanese proletarian literature of the time, he summarized the incident in a novel called Student Group and read it to Ueda. The Tsushima family was wary of Dazai's leftist activities. On 16 January of the following year, the Special High Police arrested Ueda and nine other students of the Hiroko Institute of Social Studies, who were working as activists for Seigen Tanaka's Communist Party. In college, Dazai met activist Eizo Kudo, and made a monthly financial contribution of ten yen to the Japanese Communist Party. He was expelled from his family after his marriage to Hatsuyo Oyama in order to prevent any association of his illegal activities with his brother Bunji, who was a politician. After his marriage, Dazai was ordered to hide his sympathies and moved repeatedly. In July 1932, Bunji tracked him down, and had him turn himself in at the Aomori Police Station. In December, Dazai signed and sealed a pledge at the Aomori Prosecutor's Office to completely withdraw from leftist activities.

• Illustration — Dazai in 1928 Dazai kept his promise and settled down. He managed to obtain the assistance of Masuji Ibuse, an established writer whose connections helped him get his works published and establish his reputation. The next few years were productive for Dazai. He wrote at a feverish pace and used the pen name "Osamu Dazai" for the first time in a short story called "Ressha" ("列車", "Train"), published in 1933. This story was his first experiment with the I-novel form that later became his trademark. In 1935 it started to become clear to Dazai that he would not graduate. This was not surprising when one considers that he boasted of not having attended a single lecture in five years. He also failed to obtain a job at a Tokyo newspaper. He finished The Final Years (Bannen), which was intended to be his farewell to the world, and tried to hang himself on 19 March 1935, failing yet again. Less than three weeks later, he developed acute appendicitis and was hospitalized. In the hospital, he became addicted to Pavinal, a morphine-based painkiller. After fighting the addiction for a year, in October 1936 he was taken to a mental institution, locked in a room and forced to quit cold turkey. The treatment lasted over a month. During this time Dazai's wife Hatsuyo committed adultery with his best friend Zenshirō Kodate. This eventually came to light, and on 15 March 1937, Dazai attempted to commit shinjū (joint suicide) with his wife by overdosing on Calmotin, but neither died. Soon after, Dazai divorced Hatsuyo. He quickly remarried, this time to a middle school teacher named Michiko Ishihara. Their first daughter, Sonoko, was born in June 1941. In the 1930s and 1940s, Dazai wrote a number of novels and short stories that are autobiographical in nature. His first story, Gyofukuki (魚服記, "Transformation", 1933), is a grim fantasy involving suicide. Other stories written during this period include Dōke no hana (道化の花, "Flowers of Buffoonery", 1935), Gyakkō (逆行, "Losing Ground", 1935), Kyōgen no kami (狂言の神, "The God of Farce", 1936), an epistolary novel called Kyokō no Haru (虚構の春, False Spring, 1936) and the stories in the collection Bannen (1936; Declining Years or The Final Years) and Josei-to("Schoolgirl", 1939), which describe his sense of personal isolation and his debauchery.

Dazai was excused from the draft during World War II because of his chronic chest problems, as he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. The censors became more reluctant to accept his work, but he managed to publish anyway. In contrast to other literary publications coming out in the wake of Pearl Harbor with praises of the date of December 8 and the new unified will of the nation, Dazai published a work entitled Jūnigatsu Yōka (十二月八日, "December 8", 1942) depicting a poor housewife needing to take care of her daily necessities as though it were any other day. This has been noted as a very rare rejection of the overwhelming intellectual depiction of national commitment to the war. A number of the stories that he published during the war were retellings of stories by Ihara Saikaku (1642–1693). Dazai's wartime works include Udaijin Sanetomo (右大臣実朝, "Minister of the Right Sanetomo", 1943), Tsugaru (1944), Pandora no Hako (パンドラの匣, Pandora's Box, 1945–46), and Otogizōshi (お伽草紙, Fairy Tales, 1945) in which he retells a number of Japanese fairy tales. Dazai's house was burned down twice in the American bombing of Tokyo, but his family escaped unscathed and gained a son, Masaki, who was born in 1944. His third child, his daughter Satoko, who later became a writer under the pseudonym Yūko Tsushima, was born in May 1947.

• Illustration — Dazai in 1947–1948 In the immediate postwar period, Dazai reached the height of his popularity. He depicted a dissolute life in postwar Tokyo in Viyon no Tsuma (ヴィヨンの妻, "Villon's Wife", 1947), depicting the wife of a poet who had abandoned her and her continuing will to live through hardships. In 1946, Dazai published a controversial memoir, Kuno no Nenkan ("Almanac of Pain"), in which he describes the immediate aftermath of Japan's defeat and seeks to encapsulate how the Japanese felt at the time. Dazai reaffirmed his loyalty to Hirohito, the Emperor of Japan, and his son Akihito. However, Dazai also expressed his Communist beliefs in this memoir. Dazai also wrote Jugonenkan (For Fifteen Years), another autobiographical piece. On 14 December 1946, a group of writers that included Dazai was joined by Yukio Mishima for dinner at a restaurant. The latter recalled that on that occasion, he gave vent to his dislike of Dazai. According to a later statement by Mishima: The disgust in which I hold Dazai's literature is in some way ferocious. First, I dislike his face. Second, I dislike his rustic preference for urban sophistication. Third, I dislike the fact that he played roles that were not appropriate for him. Other participants at the dinner could not remember if events occurred as Mishima described. They did report that he did not enjoy Dazai's "clowning" and that he and Dazai had a dispute about Ōgai Mori, a writer whom Mishima admired. • Illustration — Tomie Yamazaki, Dazai's last lover In July 1947, Dazai's novel Shayo (The Setting Sun, translated 1956) was published. It depicts the decline of the Japanese nobility after the war. It was partly based on the diary of Shizuko Ōta, an admirer of Dazai's work who first met him in 1941. The pair had a daughter, the writer Ōta Haruko in 1947. A heavy drinker, Dazai became an alcoholic and his health deteriorated rapidly. At this time he met Tomie Yamazaki, a beautician whose husband had been killed in the war after just ten days of marriage. Dazai abandoned his wife and children and moved in with Tomie. Dazai began writing his novel No Longer Human (人間失格 Ningen Shikkaku, 1948) at the onsen in Atami. He then moved to Ōmiya with Tomie and stayed there until mid-May 1948, finishing his novel. A quasi-autobiography, it depicts a self-destructive young man who believes that he is disqualified from being human. The book has been translated into several languages. In the spring of 1948, Dazai worked on Goodbye, a novella scheduled to be serialized in the Asahi Shimbun. It was never finished.

• Illustration — Dazai and Tomie's bodies discovered in 1948 On 13 June 1948, Dazai and Tomie drowned themselves in the rain-swollen Tamagawa Aqueduct, near his house. Their bodies were not discovered until six days later, on June 19, which would have been his 39th birthday. At the time, there was a lot of speculation about the incident. Keikichi Nakahata, a kimono merchant who frequented the young Tsushima family, was shown the scene of the suicide by a detective from Mitaka police station. He speculated that "Dazai was asked to die, and he simply agreed, but just before his death, he suddenly felt an obsession with life." Dazai's grave is within the Zenrin-ji temple complex in Mitaka, Tokyo. It faces the grave of Mori Ōgai, whom Dazai respected.

Works • Japanese title [Romaji] — English title — Publi­shed — Translator • ア、秋 [A, Aki] — A. Autumn — 1939 • 愛と美について [Ai to bi ni tsuite] — About Love and Beauty — 1939 • 老ハイデルベルヒ [Alt-Heidelberg] — Alt-Heidelberg — 1940 • 雨の玉川心中 [Ame no Tamagawa shinjū] — Rain at Tamagawa - Double Suicide • 兄たち [Anitachi] — My Older Brothers — 1940 — McCarthy; O'Brien • 青森 [Aomori] — Aomori — 1941 • 或る忠告 [Aru chūkoku] — Advice — 1942 • 朝 [Asa] — Morning — 1947 — Brudnoy and Yumi • あさましきもの [Asamashiki mono] — Something Regrettable — 1937 • 新しい形の個人主義 [Atarashii katachi no kojin shugi] — A New Form of Individualism — 1980 • 「晩年」と「女生徒」 Bannento "Joseito"] — "The Last Years" and "Schoolgirl" — 1948 • 「晩年」に就いて Bannenni tsuite] — About "The Final Years“ — 1936 • 美男子と煙草 [Bidanshi to tabako] — Handsome Devils and Cigarettes — 1948 — McCarthy • 美少女 [Bishōjo] — A Little Beauty — 1939 — McCarthy • 眉山 [Bizan] — Bizan — 1948 • チャンス [Chansu] — Chance — 1946 • 父 [Chichi] — The Father — 1947 — Brudnoy and Yumi • 小さいアルバム [Chiisai arubamu] — The Little Album — 1942 • 畜犬談 —伊馬鵜平君に与える— [Chikukendan - Ima Uhei-kun ni ataeru -] — Canis familiaris — 1939 — McCarthy • 竹青 [Chikusei] — Blue Bamboo — 1945 — McCarthy • 地球図 [Chikyūzu] — Chikyūzu (or World’s Map) — 1935 • 千代女 [Chiyojo] — Chiyojo — 1941 — Dunlop • 地図 [Chizu] — The Map — 1925 • 大恩は語らず [Daion wa katarazu] — A Great Favour is Not Expressed — 1954 • 断崖の錯覚 [Dangai no sakkaku] — Illusion of the Cliffs — 1934 • 檀君の近業について [Dan-kun no kingyō ni tsuite] — About the Latest Works by Dan-kun — 1937 • 男女同権 [Danjo dōken] — Gender Equality — 1946 • 誰 [Dare] — Who — 1941 • 誰も知らぬ [Dare mo shiranu] — Nobody Knows — 1940 • ダス・ゲマイネ [Dasu Gemaine] — Das Gemeine — 1935 — O'Brien • デカダン抗議 [Dekadan kōgi] — Decadent Protest — 1939 • 貪婪禍 [Donranka] — The Scourge of Greed — 1940 • 道化の華 [Dōke no hana] — The Flowers of Buffoonery — 1935 • 炎天汗談 [Enten kandan] — Bottomless Hell — 1942 • フォスフォレッスセンス [Fosuforessensu] — The Pitiable Mosquitoes — 1947 • 富嶽百景 [Fugaku hyakkei] — One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji — 1939 — McCarthy • 富士に就いて [Fuji ni tsuite] — About Mount Fuji — 1938 • 服装に就いて [Fukusō ni tsuite] — About Clothing — 1941 — O'Brien • 不審庵 [Fushin'an] — Doubtful Retreat — 1943 • 冬の花火 [Fuyu no hanabi] — Winter Fireworks — 1946 • 玩具 [Gangu] — Toys — 1935 — O'Brien • 芸術ぎらい [Geijutsu girai] — Dislike of Art — 1944 • 義務 [Gimu] — Duty — 1940 • 五所川原 [Goshogawara] — Goshogawara — 1941 • グッド・バイ [Guddo Bai] — Goodbye — 1948 — Marshall • 逆行 [Gyakkō] — Losing Ground — 1935 • 魚服記 [Gyofukuki] — Metamorphosis — 1933 — O'Brien • 魚服記に就て [Gyofukuki ni tsuite] — About the Story of Fish and Clothing — 1933 • 葉 [Ha] — Leaves — 1934 — Gangloff • 母 [Haha] — Mother — 1947 — Brudnoy and Yumi • 八十八夜 [Hachijūhachiya] — The 88th Day — 1939 • 恥 [Haji] — Shame — 1942 — Dunlop • 薄明 [Hakumei] — Early Light — 1946 — McCarthy • 花火 [Hanabi] — Fireworks — 1929 • 花吹雪 [Hanafubuki] — Falling Blossoms — 1944 • 犯人 [Hannin] — The Criminal — 1948 • 春 [Haru] — Spring — 1980 • 春の枯葉 [Haru no kareha] — Dry Leaves in Spring — 1946 • 春の盗賊 [Haru no tōzoku] — A Burglar in Spring — 1940 • 春夫と旅行できなかつた話 [Haruo to ryokō dekinakatsuta hanashi] — The Story of How I Couldn't Travel with Haruo • 走ラヌ名馬 [Hashiranu meiba] — The Unrunning Thoroughbred — 1980 • 走れメロス [Hashire Merosu] — Run, Melos! — 1940 — McCarthy; O'Brien • 葉桜と魔笛 [Hazakura to mateki] — Cherry Blossoms and the Magic Flute — 1939 • 碧眼托鉢 [Hekigan takuhatsu] — The Blue-eyed Pilgrim — 1936 • 返事 [Henji] — Reply — 1980 • 皮膚と心 [Hifu to kokoro] — Skin and Heart — 1939 • 火の鳥 [Hi no tori] — The Phoenix — 1939 • 一つの約束 [Hitotsu no yakusoku] — One Promise — 1944 • 一問一答 [Ichimon ittō] — Questions and Answers — 1942 • 陰火 [Inka] — Inka (Will-o'-the-Wisp) — 1936 • 田舎者 [Inakamono] — The Country Bumpkin — 1980 • 一歩前進二歩退却 [Ippo zenshin nippo taikyaku] — One Step Forward, Two Steps Back — 1938 • 弱者の糧 [Jakusha no kate] — Food for the Weak — 1980 • 人物に就いて [Jinbutsu ni tsuite] — About Characters — 1936 • 自作を語る [Jisaku wo kataru] — Talking About My Work — 1980 • 自信の無さ [Jishin no nasa] — Lack of Confidence — 1940 • 女類 [Jorui] — Women — 1948 • 女生徒 [Joseito] — Schoolgirl — 1939 — Powell • 十五年間 [Jūgonenkan] — For Fifteen Years — 1946 • 十二月八日 [Jūnigatsu yōka] — December 8th — 1942 • 純真 [Junshin] — Innocence — 1980 • 貨幣 [Kahei] — Currency — 1946 — O'Brien • 佳日 [Kajitsu] — Happy Day — 1944 • 駈込み訴え [Kakekomi uttae] — Heed My Plea — 1940 — O'Brien • かくめい [Kakumei] — Revolution — 1948 • 鴎 [Kamome] — Seagull — 1940 • 【関連作品】([Kanren sakuhin]) — Related Works • 彼は昔の彼ならず [Kare wa mukashi no kare narazu] — He Is Not the Man He Used to Be — 1934 • 花燭 [Kashoku] — Wedding Torches — 1939 • かすかな声 [Kasukana koe] — A Faint Voice — 1940 • 家庭の幸福 [Katei no kōfuku] — Domestic Happiness — 1939 • 川端康成へ [Kawabata Yasunari e] — To Yasunari Kawabata — 1935 • 革財布 [kawa saifu] — Leather Wallet • 風の便り [Kaze no tayori] — News on the Wind — 1941 • 喝采 [Kessai] — Applause — 1936 • 帰去来 [Kikyorai] — Going Home — 1943 — Lyons • 金錢の話 [Kinsen no hanashi] — A Story About Money — 1943 • 禁酒の心 [Kinshu no kokoro] — The Heart of a Teetotaller — 1943 • きりぎりす [Kirigirisu] — Cricket — 1940 • 校長三代 [Kōchō sandai] — Three Generations of Principals — 1939 • 乞食学生 [kojiki gakusei] — The Beggar Student — 1940 — Sam Bett • 心の王者 [Kokoro no ōja] — The King of the Heart — 1940 • 故郷 [Kokyō] — Homecoming — 1943 — O'Brien • このごろ [Kono goro] — Lately — 1940 • 困惑の弁 [Konwaku no ben] — A Plea of Confusion • 古典風 [Kotenfū] — In Classical Style — 1940 • 古典竜頭蛇尾 [Koten ryūtō dabi] — Classical Dragon Head and Snake Tail — 1936 • 九月十月十一月 [Kugatsu jūgatsu jūichigatsu] — September, October, November — 1938 • 國技館 (くにわざかん) [Kuni-waza-kann] — National Sumo Arena — 1940 • 苦悩の年鑑 [Kunō no nenkan] — Almanac of Pain — 1946 — Lyons • 黒石の人たち [Kuroishi no hitotachi] — The People of Kuroishi • 狂言の神 [Kyōgen no kami] — The God of Farce — 1936 • 虚構の春 [Kyokō no haru] — False Spring — 1936 • 饗応夫人 [Kyōō fujin] — The Hospitable Lady — 1948 • 郷愁 [Kyōshū] — Nostalgia • 満願 [Mangan] — Complete Satisfaction — 1938 — Brudnoy and Kazuko; McCarthy • 待つ [Matsu] — Waiting — 1942 — Brudnoy and Kazuko; Turvill; O'Brien • 女神 [Megami] — The Goddess — 1947 • めくら草紙 [Mekura zōshi] — The Blind Scroll — 1936 • メリイクリスマス [Merii Kurisumasu] — Merry Christmas — 1947 — McCarthy • 雌に就いて [Mesu ni tsuite] — Female — 1947 — McCarthy • 未帰還の友に [Mikikan no tomo ni] — To an Unreturned Friend — 1944 • みみずく通信 [Mimizuku tsūshin] — The Owl Newspaper — 1941 • 男女川と羽左衛門 [Minanogawa to Uzaemon] — The River and Uzaemon — 1935 • 盲人独笑 [Mōjin Dokushō] — The Blind Man's Laughter • 文盲自嘲 [Monmō jichō] — The Illiterate's Laughter • 悶悶日記 [Monmon nikki] — Tormented Diary • もの思う葦 [Monoomouashi] — A Thinking Reed • 無題 [Mudai] — Untitled • 無趣味 [Mushumi] — Lack of Interest • 二十世紀旗手 [Nijūseiki kishu] — A Standard-bearer of the Twentieth Century — 1937 • 「人間キリスト記」その他 Ningen kirisuto kisonota] — "Reports on Christ" and Others — 1940 • 人間失格 [Ningen Shikkaku] — No Longer Human — 1948 — Keene; Gibeau; Carpenter • 庭 [Niwa] — The Garden — 1946 — McCarthy • 如是我聞 [Nyoze Gamon] — Thus Have I Heard — 1948 • 女人訓戒 [Nyonin kunkai] — Advice for Women • 女人創造 [Nyonin sōzō] — Woman's Creation • 織田君の死 [Oda kun no shi] — The Death of Oda-kun • 緒方氏を殺した者 [Ogata shi wo koroshita mono] — The Murderer of Mr. Ogata — 1937 • 黄金風景 [Ōgon fūkei] — Golden Landscape — 1941 — Dunlop; McCarthy • 思ひ出 [Omohide] — Memories — 1933 — Dunlop; Lyons; O'Brien • 同じ星 [Onaji hoshi] — The Same Star • 女の決闘 [Onna no ketto] — Women's Duel — 1940 • おさん [Osan] — Osan — 1947 — O'Brien • おしゃれ童子 [Oshare doji] — The Stylish Child — 1939 • 黄村先生言行録 [Ōson sensei genkōroku] — Mr. Oson's Records — 1943 • 桜桃 [Ōtō] — Cherries — 1948 — McCarthy • お伽草紙 [Otogizōshi] — Fairy Tales — 1945 — O'Brien • 音に就いて [oto ni tsuite] — About Sound — 1942 • 親という二字 [Oya to iu niji] — The Word "Parents" • パウロの混乱 [Pauro no konran] — Paul's Confusion • パンドラの匣 [Pandora no hako] — Pandora's Box — 1945 • 懶惰の歌留多 [Randanokaruta] — The Lazy Game of Cards — 1939 • ラロシフコー [Raroshifukō] — La Rochefoucauld — 1935 • 令嬢アユ [Reijō Ayu] — Miss Ayu — 1934 • 列車 [Ressha] — The Train — 1933 — McCarthy • リイズ [Riizu] — Liz — 1940 • 六月十九日 [Rokugatsu jūkunichi] — June 19th — 1946 • ロマネスク [Romanesuku] — Romanesque — 1934 • ろまん燈籠 [Romantōrō] — The Romantic Lantern — 1947 • 律子と貞子 [Ritsuko to Sadako] — Ritsuko and Sadako — 1942 • 佐渡 [Sado] — Sado — 1941 • 砂子屋 [Sagoya] — The Sandman — 1941 • 最後の太閤 [saigo no taikō] — The Last Taikō — 1945 • 酒ぎらい [sake girai] — The Teetotaler — 1935 • 酒の追憶 [sake no tsuioku] — Memories of Alcohol — 1940 • 作家の手帖 [Sakka no techō] — The Writer's Notebook — 1946 • 作家の像 [sakka no zō] — The Writer's Portrait — 1943 • 三月三十日 [sangatsu san jū nichi] — March 30th — 1943 • 散華 [Sange] — Fallen Flowers — 1945 — Swann • 猿ヶ島 [Sarugashima] — The Monkey Island — 1935 — O'Brien • 猿面冠者 [Sarumen kanja] — The Monkey-faced Man — 1942 • 正義と微笑 [Seigi to bisho] — Righteousness and Smiles — 1942 • 清貧譚 [seihin tan] — The Story of Poverty — 1936 • 政治家と家庭 [Seijika to katei] — The Politician and the Family — 1943 • 世界的 [Sekai-teki] — Worldly — 1935 • 惜別 [Sekibetsu] — Regretful Parting — 1945 • 赤心 [Sekishin] — Sincerity — 1941 • 先生三人 [Sensei sannin] — Three Teachers — 1939 • 斜陽 [Shayō] — The Setting Sun — 1947 — Keene • 思案の敗北 [Shian no haiboku] — The Defeat of Deliberation — 1936 • 新ハムレット [Shinhamuretto] — New Hamlet — 1941 • 新樹の言葉 [Shinjunokotoba] — Words of the New Trees — 1943 • 新郎 [Shinro] — The Groom — 1943 • 新釈諸国噺 [Shinshakushokokubanashi] — New Interpretation of Country Stories — 1945 — O'Brien • 親友交歓 [Shin'yūkōkan] — The Courtesy Call — 1943 • 失敗園 [Shippaien] — The Garden of Failure — 1942 • 知らない人 [Shiranai hito] — Unknown Person — 1943 • 【シリーズ好評既刊】([Shirīzu kōhyō kikan]) — Successful Series — 1941 • 私信 [Shishin] — Private Letter — 1940 • 市井喧争 [Shisei kenso] — People's Disputes — 1942 • 正直ノオト [Shōjiki nōto] — Honest Notes — 1938 • 諸君の位置 [Shokun no ichi] — Your Positions — 1940 • 食通 [Shokutsu] — Gourmet — 1942 • 小志 [Shōshi] — Small Ambitions — 1939 • 小照 [Shōshō] — Little Light — 1942 • 小説の面白さ [Shōsetsunoomoshirosa] — The Fun of the Novel — 1940 • 秋風記 [Shūfūki] — Autumn Wind Story — 1942 • 春昼 [Shunchū] — Spring Day — 1940 • 創作余談 [sōsaku yodan] — Creation Side Notes — 1936 • 創生記 [sōseiki] — Creation Story — 1946 • 水仙 [Suisen] — Daffodils / Narcissus — 1942 — McCarthy • 雀 [Suzume] — Sparrows — 1946 • 雀こ [Suzume ko] — Little Sparrow — 1946 • 多頭蛇哲学 [Ta atama hebi tetsugaku] — Philosophy of the Multi-headed Snake — 1934 • 田中君に就いて [Tanaka-kun ni tsuite] — About Mr. Tanaka — 1937 • たずねびと [Tazune bito] — Seeker — 1946 • 天狗 [Tengu] — Tengu — 1943 • 鉄面皮 [Tetsumenpi] — Thick-skinned — 1936 • 答案落第 [tōan rakudai] — Examination Failure — 1937 • トカトントン [Tokatonton] — The Sound of Hammering — 1947 — O'Brien • 東京だより [Tōkyōda yori] — News from Tokyo — 1941 • 東京八景 [Tōkyō Hakkei] — Eight Views of Tokyo — 1941 — Lyons; McCarthy; O'Brien • 燈籠 [Tōrō] — Lantern — 1937 • 當選の日 [Tōsen no hi] — Election Day — 1935 • 徒党について [Totōnitsuite] — About Factions — 1944 • 津軽 [Tsugaru] — Tsugaru — 1944 — Marshall; Westerhoven • 津輕地方とチエホフ [Tsugaru chihō to chiehofu] — Tsugaru Region and Chekhov — 1938 • 姥捨 [Ubasute] — Putting Granny Out to Die — 1938 — O'Brien • 右大臣実朝 [Udaijinsanetomo] — Sanetomo, Minister of the Right — 1943 • 鬱屈禍 [ukkutsuka] — The Hidden Curse — 1940 • 海 [Umi] — The Sea — 1941 • 嘘 [Uso] — Lie — 1941 • やんぬる哉 [Yan'nurukana] — Unbearable — 1937 • ヴィヨンの妻 [Viyon no tsuma] — Villon's Wife — 1947 — McCarthy • 容貌 [Yobo] — Appearance — 1936 • 横綱 [Yokozuna] — Grand Champion — 1940 • 雪の夜の話 [Yuki no yo no hanashi] — Story of a Snowy Night — 1936 — Swann • わが愛好する言葉 [Waga aikō suru kotoba] — Words I Love — 1936 • わが半生を語る [Wagahanseiwokataru] — My Half-Life — 1937 • 渡り鳥 [Wataridori] — Migratory Birds — 1936 • 私の著作集 [Watashinochosakushū] — My Collected Works — 1944 • 座興に非ず [zakyō ni hizu] — Not Just for Fun — 1936 • 俗天使 [Zoku tenshi] — The Common Angel — 1947 • 善蔵を思う [Zenzō wo omou] — Thinking of Zenzō — 1946

In 2019, Mika Ninagawa directed the film Ningen Shikkaku: Osamu Dazai and the three women, a biographical film about Dazai, starring Shun Oguri. The film remained in the top 5 at the box office in its first 2 weeks. The protagonist of the 2019 manga No Longer Allowed in Another World is a reference to Dazai.

Osamu Dazai was recorded at birth as 津島 修治. He also worked under the names 辻島 衆二 and 黒木 舜平. The authorities additionally record the headings Tsushima Shuji, Shūji Tsushima, Shuji Tsushima, Dazai Osamu and Tsushima Shūji. His recorded language was Japanese. He was the child of Tsushima Gen'emon. He married Michiko Tsushima. 2 children are recorded: Yūko Tsushima and Haruko Ōta.

Osamu Dazai is recorded as writer and novelist.