If Dazai Osamu can be associated with any school of writers in modern Japan, that group would be the burai-ha, or the "vagabond school." Especially active in the years immediately following World War II, the group included such minor writers as...

(1909–1948), Japanese writer. Born into a wealthy family in Tsugaru, Aomori prefecture, Dazai Osamu showed a strong interest in writing as a student. Feeling alienated from his family, which had political connections at the national level, and...

Osamu Dazai (太宰 治, Dazai Osamu?); (19 June 1909 – 13 June 1948) was a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th-century Japan. He is noted for his ironic and gloomy wit, his obsession with suicide, and his...

Since relocating to California in the mid-'70s, Japanese electronic artist Osamu Kitajima has sought to merge East and West successfully in his music. Monday night at Blues Alley the forms wrestled with each other as much as they harmonized. "FM Shrine" belied the...

Byline: James B. Treece Mitsubishi Motors Corp. has stripped Chairman Takashi Nishioka, who has no automotive experience, of the CEO title. He remains chairman, a post that in Japan often is held by a figurehead rather than a decision maker. The...

In the following essay, Lyons explores parallels between Dazai's work and life.

In the following essay, Wolfe examines suicidal narratives, focusing on Dazai's “Metamorphosis” and “Reminiscences.”

In the following essay, Ueda maintains that Dazai, while saying little about his own works, used the autobiographical tone of his stories and novels to present his thoughts and ideas on the novel and the role and responsibilities of the writer and artist.