• osamu dazai • [1909-1948] •

was considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th century japan. his most populer works include shayou ( 'the setting sun' ) and ningen shikkaku  ( 'no longer human' ) . suicide was a recurring theme in both no longer human and the author's own life, as he made several attempts to kill himself. he drowned with a lover in a double suicide.