“Absurdity and Nihility: An Introduction to the Works of the Japanese Novelist Osamu Dazai”(1)
   ∕ Chen Qingyang

I. Osamu Dazai’s Creative Development and the Characteristics of His Novels

1. Creative Development

Osamu Dazai (1909–1948), whose real name was Tsushima Shūji, was one of the most influential novelists of the Shōwa period in Japan and an important representative figure of the Buraiha literary movement. He was born into a wealthy landowning family in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. From an early age he was intelligent, yet his personality was sensitive and withdrawn, and he held a strong rebellious attitude toward social order and traditional morality.

During his youth, he was influenced by left-wing thought and once participated in underground communist activities. Because of political and personal life problems, he repeatedly fell into psychological crises and several suicide attempts. These personal experiences profoundly influenced the ideological content and artistic style of his later novels.

Dazai’s literary creation began in the early 1930s. In 1933 he published the short story “The Train” in a coterie literary magazine, officially entering the literary world. In 1935 his novel “Gyakkō (Retrogression)” was nominated for the Akutagawa Prize, gradually attracting attention from the literary community. The works of this period often possessed a strong confessional quality, portraying the inability of youth to adapt to society, their psychological confusion, and their sense of the emptiness of life.

From the late 1930s to the early 1940s, Dazai’s writing gradually entered a stage of maturity. He produced many important short stories, such as “One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji,” “Schoolgirl,” and “Run, Melos!” These works, while maintaining the foundation of self-confessional writing, gradually integrated humor, satire, and observation of human nature, giving his fiction an emotional tone that was both sorrowful and gentle.

After the end of the Second World War, Japanese society was undergoing a tremendous collapse of spirit and values. Dazai’s writing also entered its most representative late stage. The novel The Setting Sun, published in 1947, depicts the disintegration of an aristocratic family in postwar society and is regarded as a symbol of the spiritual crisis of the Shōwa era. No Longer Human, completed in 1948, is considered the pinnacle of his literary career. Through the psychological collapse and self-negation of the protagonist Ōba Yōzō, the novel profoundly presents the despair and confusion modern people feel regarding their own existence.

In June 1948, Osamu Dazai and his lover Tomie Yamazaki committed suicide by drowning in the Tamagawa Canal in Tokyo, ending his life at the age of thirty-nine. No Longer Human was serialized and completed after his death and quickly became one of the classic works in the history of Japanese literature. This image of a writer whose life and creative work were closely intertwined has made Osamu Dazai one of the most tragically colored figures in modern Japanese literature.

2. Characteristics of His Novels

(1) Confessional Narrative (Tendency Toward the I-novel)

Dazai’s novels possess a strong tradition of the I-novel, often unfolding through first-person narration or an autobiographical style of storytelling. The author frequently integrates his personal experiences, emotions, and thoughts into his fiction, giving the text a high degree of authenticity and candor. For example, the experiences of the protagonist Ōba Yōzō in No Longer Human are often regarded by readers as a projection of Dazai’s own spiritual world. This type of self-analytical writing endows his novels with powerful psychological depth and realism.

(2) Human Fragility and Existential Anxiety

One of the central themes of Dazai’s novels is the depiction of human fragility and existential dilemma. The characters in his works often feel unable to adapt to society, are filled with fear and unease in interpersonal relationships, and even begin to doubt their own existence. For instance, in No Longer Human, Yōzō constantly disguises his inner fear through “clownishness,” reflecting the loneliness and anxiety of modern people hidden beneath their social masks.

(3) Emotional Tone Interweaving Tragedy and Humor

Although Dazai’s works are filled with melancholy and tragic atmosphere, his narratives are not entirely heavy. On the contrary, he often introduces self-mockery, satire, or humor into sorrowful situations, producing an emotional effect in which laughter is mingled with tears. For example, Run, Melos!, based on a classical story, uses exaggerated and dramatic narration to portray friendship and faith, revealing that even within his pessimistic emotional outlook he still retained trust in human nature.

(4) Spiritual Portrait of Postwar Society

Dazai’s works also possess a strong sense of historical context. The characters in his novels often symbolize the spiritual dilemmas of postwar Japanese society, such as the collapse of values, the disintegration of social classes, and the disillusionment of ideals. The decline of the aristocratic family in The Setting Sun symbolizes the collapse of the old social order after the war and is therefore frequently regarded as an important literary text representing cultural transformation in the Shōwa era.

(5) Female Images and Emotional Depiction

Dazai portrays female psychology and emotions with remarkable delicacy. For example, Schoolgirl presents the sensitivity and loneliness of adolescence through the inner monologue of a young girl. Such works demonstrate his profound observation of female psychology, giving his novels a softness and subtlety rarely found among male writers.

(6) Nihility of Life and the Consciousness of Redemption

Dazai’s novels often oscillate between despair and hope. On the one hand, he portrays the absurdity and nihilism of life; on the other hand, his works still contain a hidden longing for understanding, love, and redemption. This contradictory spiritual structure gives his novels both deep tragic qualities and a gentle concern for humanity.

Overall, Osamu Dazai’s novels are renowned for their confessional narrative style, profound analysis of human nature, and emotional tone that interweaves tragedy and humor. His works not only reflect personal spiritual struggles but also present the crisis of values in postwar Japanese society. For this reason, Osamu Dazai is regarded as one of the writers in modern Japanese literature who most deeply touches upon human loneliness and existential dilemma. His representative works The Setting Sun and No Longer Human continue to evoke powerful emotional resonance among readers today.

II. Analytical Discussion of Four Novels by Osamu Dazai

Based on the structural study of the novel, narrative theory of the novel, psychological analysis of the novel, and the rhetoric of the novel, the author constructs a complete analytical methodology to conduct a systematic theoretical analysis of four of Osamu Dazai’s most representative works:

The Setting Sun (1947)
No Longer Human (1948)
Run, Melos! (1940)
Schoolgirl (1939)

I. The Setting Sun (1947)

(1) Story Outline and Central Theme

1. Story Outline

(1) The Disintegration of a Declining Aristocratic Family

The story of The Setting Sun is primarily structured around the first-person epistolary narration of the female protagonist, Kazuko, depicting the gradual disintegration and disappearance of the old aristocratic class amid the dramatic transformations of Japanese society after the war. Kazuko was originally born into a kazoku family in Tokyo and lived a relatively elegant and stable upper-class life. However, with the end of the Second World War, Japan’s political and social structures underwent drastic changes. The aristocratic class lost its economic and political foundations, and the lifestyle that had once symbolized status and honor rapidly declined.

Within this historical context, Kazuko, her mother, and her younger brother Naoji are forced to leave Tokyo and move to the countryside in Izu. The rural environment is simple and even somewhat dilapidated, forming a stark contrast with their former splendid aristocratic life. This spatial transition in fact carries strong symbolic meaning: moving from the center of urban civilization to a marginal region symbolizes the gradual withdrawal of the old social class order.

While depicting the details of daily life, the novel also presents a profound atmosphere of decline. The family’s finances gradually deteriorate, furniture and belongings are continually sold, and the psychological state of the family members steadily collapses. This aristocratic household, which once symbolized elegance and culture, gradually disintegrates within the current of history.

(2) Naoji’s Spiritual Degeneration

The younger brother Naoji is another important figure in the novel. His personality is sensitive, contradictory, and self-destructive. During the war, Naoji was conscripted into military service, and the experience of war inflicted deep psychological trauma upon him. After returning home following the war, he is unable to reintegrate into normal life, and his mind is filled with doubts about society and about his own identity.

Naoji maintains a complex attitude toward the old aristocratic culture. On the one hand, he despises this hypocritical and rigid class system; on the other hand, he is unable to truly integrate into the new social order. As a result, he falls into an extremely contradictory mental state.

In the novel, Naoji indulges in alcohol, drugs, and a dissolute lifestyle, frequently visiting disreputable places. He continually exiles himself and even deliberately chooses a life of degeneration. This tendency toward self-destruction reflects the spiritual emptiness and existential anxiety experienced by the postwar youth after the collapse of traditional values.

Ultimately, Naoji writes a long suicide note confessing his despair toward life and his weariness with society, and he chooses to end his life through suicide. This letter holds extremely important symbolic significance within the novel. It is not only the termination of an individual life but also the collapse of the spiritual structure of the old era.

(3) Kazuko’s Rebellious Choice

In contrast to Naoji’s self-destruction, Kazuko chooses another path in the midst of her spiritual crisis—resistance and rebirth.

Kazuko falls in love with the writer Uehara. Uehara is an intellectual with a decadent temperament, living a dissolute life and holding radical ideas, symbolizing the anti-traditional aspect of postwar culture. However, Uehara does not truly reciprocate Kazuko’s feelings.

Nevertheless, Kazuko decides to bear Uehara’s child, even though this means facing the social pressure of having a child out of wedlock. In Japanese society at that time, such a decision carried enormous moral and social risks.

Kazuko’s action therefore possesses powerful symbolic significance: she no longer depends on the moral norms of the old society but instead actively makes choices for her own life. This decision is both an act of rebellion and an expression of the will to live.

Consequently, Kazuko gradually transforms into a female figure symbolizing the “new era” within the novel.

(4) The Mother’s Death

The mother is one of the most symbolic characters in the novel. She consistently maintains the elegance and restraint of an aristocratic woman. Even amid poverty and decline, she continues to preserve a dignified attitude toward life.

The mother holds deep emotional attachment to the old culture and traditional values. She represents a spiritual civilization that is on the verge of disappearance.

However, such elegance and dignity gradually become impossible to maintain in postwar society. As living conditions deteriorate and psychological pressure increases, the mother eventually dies of illness.

The mother’s death carries clear symbolic meaning—the end of the old aristocratic culture. When she departs from the world, an era also comes to its conclusion.

2. Central Themes

(1) The Disintegration of the Old Aristocratic Class

One of the most central themes of The Setting Sun is its profound depiction of the rapid decline of the Japanese kazoku aristocratic class in postwar society. After Japan’s defeat in 1945, the policies of the Allied occupation and domestic political reforms fundamentally transformed the old social structure. Among the most important institutional changes were the abolition of the kazoku system and the reform of the land system. These political and economic transformations caused the aristocratic class, which had originally depended upon feudal order and hereditary privilege, to rapidly lose its social foundation.

Osamu Dazai does not portray this historical transformation through a grand macro-historical narrative. Instead, he presents the enormous impact of historical transition through the everyday details of a declining aristocratic family. In the novel, the episode in which Kazuko’s family moves from Tokyo to the rural region of Izu possesses clear symbolic significance: withdrawing from the urban space that represents the center of culture and power to a marginal rural area suggests the retreat of the old class order from the social structure.

In addition, the gradual deterioration of the family’s material life, the sale of furniture and property, and the simplification of their lifestyle together form a “narrative symbol of class decline.” Through these concrete and delicate depictions of daily life, Osamu Dazai successfully transforms large-scale historical change into tangible everyday experience, enabling readers to perceive the decline and disintegration of the old aristocratic culture at a micro level.

Therefore, The Setting Sun is not merely a family novel; it is also a social allegory imbued with a strong historical consciousness. Through the tragedy of individual destinies, it reflects the institutional collapse and cultural rupture of an entire era.

(2) The Collapse of the Spiritual Order in Postwar Japan

The transformation of postwar Japanese society was not only manifested in the reconstruction of political and economic systems; more profoundly, it involved the collapse of the spiritual system of values. For a long time, Japanese society had relied upon nationalist ideology, the ethical code of Bushidō, and a spiritual structure centered on the Emperor. After defeat in the war, however, these ideological foundations rapidly lost both legitimacy and belief.

In The Setting Sun, the disintegration of this spiritual order is mainly represented through the character of Naoji. As a young man who returned after the war, Naoji is unable to identify with the hypocrisy and emptiness of the old aristocratic culture, yet he also finds it difficult to locate his place within the new democratic society. This dual loss of identity and values causes him to fall into profound existential anxiety.

Naoji’s immersion in alcohol, drugs, and a life of dissipation appears on the surface to be a form of moral degeneration, but in reality it reflects the spiritual predicament widely experienced by postwar youth. When an established system of values collapses and a new ethical order has not yet been established, individuals often fall into a condition that may be described as a “vacuum of values.”

Naoji ultimately ends his life through suicide. This act possesses clear symbolic meaning: it is both the result of an individual’s psychological collapse and an extreme expression of the disappointment and despair felt by Japanese youth toward their era after the war. Thus, Naoji’s tragedy is not merely an individual psychological problem but also a spiritual symptom that carries broad historical universality.

(3) The Awakening of Female Self-Consciousness

In traditional Japanese society, women were usually expected to play roles characterized by obedience, dependence, and self-sacrifice. However, during the process of postwar social transformation, women gradually began to become aware of their own subjectivity and free will. The character of Kazuko in The Setting Sun precisely embodies this awakening of female self-consciousness.

Unlike her mother, Kazuko does not rigidly adhere to the ethical norms of old aristocratic culture. Instead, she gradually realizes the hypocrisy and emptiness of these traditional values. When she falls in love with the writer Uehara and decides to bear a child out of wedlock, she is in fact challenging the traditional moral expectations concerning female chastity and family order.

This decision carries important symbolic meaning: Kazuko no longer evaluates her life according to the value standards of a patriarchal society but instead bases her actions on her personal emotions and will. The establishment of this subjectivity transforms her into a female figure possessing modern consciousness.

Therefore, from the perspective of gender studies, The Setting Sun not only depicts the decline of the aristocratic class but also presents an important process in the transformation of female identity in postwar society. Kazuko’s image symbolizes the birth of a new type of female subject.

(4) The Conflict Between Ideals and Reality

The characters in the novel generally exist within a contradiction between ideals and reality. This conflict is not only manifested at the level of personal life but also reflects the value dilemmas that arise during a period of social transformation.

Naoji represents an extreme form of idealism. He despises the hypocrisy and emptiness of the old aristocratic culture and simultaneously feels disgust toward the vulgarity and utilitarianism of postwar society. However, he lacks the ability to transform his ideals into concrete action; therefore, he can only escape reality through self-destruction.

In contrast, Kazuko represents another attitude toward life. She also recognizes the collapse of old values, yet she does not fall into nihilism. Instead, she attempts to search for new possibilities of life under the conditions of the new reality.

Thus, through the contrast between Naoji and Kazuko, The Setting Sun presents two different modes of existence: one is a tragic destruction that cannot reconcile the conflict between ideals and reality; the other is the search for a new path of life within the real world.

(5) The Contradiction Between Degeneration and Rebirth

The most dramatic intellectual structure in the novel arises from the contrast and conflict between degeneration and rebirth.

Naoji’s life trajectory presents a process of gradual degeneration. He moves from disappointment with society to hatred toward himself, and ultimately takes suicide as the endpoint of his life. This degeneration is not merely a personal moral failure; it also symbolizes the collapse of the spirit of an entire era.

In sharp contrast stands Kazuko’s choice. She is not consumed by the decline of the age; instead, through the act of bearing a child out of wedlock, she symbolically creates new life.

Therefore, on the symbolic level, Naoji represents death, while Kazuko represents birth. This oppositional structure gives the intellectual content of The Setting Sun a dialectical tension: while the old era moves toward its end, new life is simultaneously being conceived.

(6) The Resistance of the Will to Live

Although the overall atmosphere of The Setting Sun is filled with decline and tragic coloration, the novel does not completely fall into nihilism. On the contrary, within its deeper structure the work still implicitly affirms the will to live.

Kazuko’s choice carries clear existentialist implications. In an age in which values have collapsed and order has disintegrated, human beings can no longer rely on established moral systems to guide the direction of life. The only thing upon which they can depend is the free choice of the individual.

Through childbirth and love, Kazuko reaffirms the value of life, symbolizing humanity’s continuing effort to seek hope and a future amid historical collapse.

Therefore, the intellectual core of The Setting Sun is not merely a lament for the decline of the old era; more importantly, it is an exploration of the possibility of new life. The image of the “setting sun” presented in the novel not only symbolizes the decline of a civilization but also suggests the dawn of another era that is about to arrive.

(II) Theoretical Analysis and Discussion

1. Narrative Structure Analysis

(1) Overall Structure

A. Dual Narrative Structure

In terms of narrative structure, The Setting Sun adopts a highly artistic dual narrative structure. The novel is primarily composed of two interwoven narrative threads:

1. Kazuko’s first-person narration
2. Naoji’s testamentary narrative

Kazuko’s narration forms the principal narrative framework of the novel. As a first-person narrator, her observations and emotions carry strong subjective feeling and inner reflection, allowing the text to present a rich lyrical quality and psychological depth. Her narration not only depicts the everyday details of family life but also gradually reveals the spiritual shock caused by the collapse of the value system in postwar society.

By contrast, Naoji’s suicide letter forms the secondary narrative layer within the novel. The letter possesses a strong confessional and self-analytical character, exposing the profound spiritual crisis and collapse of values within Naoji’s inner world. Through the insertion of the letter, the novel develops multiple narrative perspectives, enabling readers to understand the psychological predicament of the characters from different mental dimensions.

From the perspective of narratology, this dual narrative structure performs the following functions:

1. It increases the psychological depth of the narrative.
2. It creates complementarity and contrast between narrative viewpoints.
3. It strengthens the tragic tension of the novel.

Therefore, the dual narrative structure of The Setting Sun is not merely a formal technique but also an important narrative strategy for deepening both the psychological portrayal of characters and the spirit of the age.

2. Narratology

(1) Narrative Perspective

A. Female First-Person Narration

The novel primarily adopts the narrative mode of a female first-person narrator, with Kazuko serving as the narrative subject.

This narrative perspective possesses multiple literary functions:

1. It strengthens the emotional density of the narrative.
2. It enhances the authenticity of the characters’ psychological states.
3. It gives the novel a confessional tone resembling autobiographical narration.

At the same time, the perspective of a female narrator provides the novel with a distinctive position for historical observation. Kazuko is both a member of the old kazoku family and someone who gradually becomes aware of the hypocrisy and decay of the old system. Consequently, her narration possesses the characteristic of critical self-reflection.

B. Epistolary Narrative

Naoji’s suicide letter constitutes another important narrative form within the novel, namely epistolary narrative.

The letter is not only an important turning point in the plot but also the most direct expression of the character’s psychological state. Through the letter, readers are able to enter Naoji’s inner world and understand his profound disgust toward society, class structure, and himself.

In terms of narrative function, the letter performs three important roles:

1. It supplements the limitations of the primary narrative perspective.
2. It reveals the deeper psychological dimension of the character.
3. It intensifies the tragic effect of the novel.

(2) Narrative Strategy

A. Confessional Narrative

Osamu Dazai’s novelistic creation is deeply influenced by the Japanese literary tradition of the I-novel. Within this literary tradition, authors often present the psychological dilemmas of the individual through the inner confessions of their characters.

In The Setting Sun, there are numerous occurrences of:

• interior monologue
• emotional confession
• self-reflection

These elements give the novel a confessional literary style that closely resembles autobiographical writing.

B. Symbolic Character Configuration

The principal characters in the novel are not merely individual figures but also highly symbolic cultural representations.

For example:

The Mother
Symbolizes the elegance and decline of the old kazoku culture.

Naoji
Symbolizes the nihilism and psychological collapse of postwar youth.

Kazuko
Symbolizes the awakening of female consciousness and the will to live in the new era.

Through this symbolic configuration of characters, the novel elevates individual destinies into an allegory of an era.

3. Psychological Analysis in the Novel

(1) Kazuko’s Psychology

A. Rebellion Against the Old Order
In the course of the psychological development within the novel, Kazuko gradually becomes aware of the hollowness and hypocrisy of the old aristocratic value system. She no longer blindly upholds traditional ethics, but instead begins to question:
• family honor
• social class
• moral norms

This shift in thought represents the spirit of individualism (individualism) that gradually emerged in postwar Japanese society.

B. Seeking the Meaning of Life
Kazuko’s exploration of the meaning of life ultimately manifests in her choices regarding love and childbirth. She decides to give birth to the writer’s child. This action is both an emotional choice and an existential declaration of life.

On the philosophical level, this choice can be understood as a form of existential affirmation of life (existential affirmation of life):

Even if the world is filled with chaos and collapse, human beings can still endow life with meaning through free will.

(2) Naoji’s Psychology

A. Self-Loathing
Naoji’s psychological structure displays a strong tendency toward self-denial. He feels ashamed of his aristocratic background, yet at the same time he is unable to adapt to the realistic order of postwar society.

This psychological state forms a profound identity crisis (identity crisis).

B. Existential Nihilism
Naoji ultimately moves toward suicide, not merely as a result of emotional collapse, but as the consequence of a deep existential nihilism (existential nihilism).

In his worldview:
• traditional values have already collapsed
• a new order has not yet been established
• the individual has lost the foundation of existence

Therefore, self-destruction is regarded by him as the only means of liberation.

Conclusion
Integrating the perspectives of structuralism, narratology, and psychological analysis, The Setting Sun is not merely a novel depicting the decline of a family, but also an important literary work that profoundly reflects the spiritual crisis of postwar Japan.

Through:
• a dual narrative structure
• the use of psychological time
• a confessional narrative strategy
• symbolic character configuration

The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai successfully combines individual destiny with historical transformation, making the work one of the most representative spiritual allegories in postwar Japanese literature.

4. Rhetorical Analysis of Fiction
(1) Symbolism
The technique of symbolism is one of the important expressive methods in the novelistic art of Osamu Dazai. In The Setting Sun, symbolism is not merely a rhetorical ornament, but rather a cultural metaphor (cultural metaphor) endowed with profound ideological implications. Through the construction of symbolic imagery, the novel elevates the destinies of individual characters and a single family into an allegorical representation of the spirit of an entire era.

A. “The Setting Sun” as a Symbol of the Decline of the Old Era

The novel’s title, “The Setting Sun,” itself constitutes a highly condensed symbolic image. In the literary tradition, the setting sun often symbolizes decline, termination, and the late stage of civilization, and Osamu Dazai transforms this natural image into a historical metaphor for postwar Japanese society.

On the symbolic level, “The Setting Sun” contains at least three layers of meaning:

1. Historical Meaning
The setting sun symbolizes the end of the old Japanese aristocratic class (the kazoku system). With the implementation of democratic reforms after the war, the traditional class order rapidly disintegrated, and the social structure of the old era gradually disappeared.

2. Cultural Meaning
The setting sun also symbolizes the decline of modern Japanese aristocratic culture. The aristocratic family depicted in the novel once represented elegance, cultivation, and refined cultural taste, yet within the realities of postwar society, this cultural capital gradually loses the foundation for its existence.

3. Spiritual Meaning
On a deeper level, “The Setting Sun” symbolizes the decline of a civilizational spirit. When the old value system collapses while a new ethical order has not yet been established, society falls into a state of spiritual twilight.

Therefore, “The Setting Sun” is not merely a natural landscape, but a symbol of an era (symbol of an era) with philosophical implications concerning history.

B. The Mother as a Symbol of Traditional Culture

The image of the mother in the novel possesses strong symbolic significance. She is not merely a family role, but the embodiment of a cultural spirit.

On the narrative level, the mother consistently maintains the elegance and moral cultivation characteristic of the old aristocratic class. Even under conditions of economic hardship and declining social status, she continues to preserve her inner dignity and sense of etiquette.

From the perspective of cultural symbolism, the mother represents:

1. the spiritual model of traditional aristocratic culture
2. the elegance and restraint found in classical Japanese aesthetics
3. the final guardian of the ethical values of the old era

However, the image of the mother also carries a certain historical tragic quality. Her elegance and gentleness gradually lose their practical significance within the new social order, and ultimately can exist only as a cultural memory that is about to vanish.

Therefore, the character of the mother is both a symbol of cultural ideals and a symbol of historical decline.

(2) Stylistic Features (Stylistic Features)

In addition to symbolic rhetoric, the language style of The Setting Sun also possesses highly distinctive artistic characteristics. Through delicate narrative language filled with emotional tension, Osamu Dazai enables the novel to display strong lyricism and psychological depth.

A. Combination of Lyricism and Confession (Lyrical–Confessional Style)

The narrative language of The Setting Sun exhibits a unique stylistic feature that combines lyricism with confession. This style possesses both the emotional density of poetic lyricism and the psychological authenticity characteristic of confessional literature.

More specifically, the language of the novel demonstrates the following characteristics:

1. Highly Emotional Sentence Structure
Characters frequently express their inner feelings through direct and sincere language, filling the text with emotional tension.

2. Frequent Use of Interior Monologue
Through interior monologue, readers are able to enter directly into the psychological world of the characters.

3. Authentic Presentation of Personal Experience
This narrative approach continues the Japanese tradition of the “I-novel,” allowing the work to display a strong autobiographical quality.

Therefore, the linguistic style of The Setting Sun can be regarded as a typical confessional narrative style (confessional narrative style).

B. Poetic Tragic Tone (Poetic Tragic Tone)

In its overall linguistic atmosphere, The Setting Sun presents a tragic style imbued with strong poetic resonance.

Osamu Dazai does not employ an intense or highly dramatic mode of narration. Instead, through delicate, restrained, and rhythmically expressive language, he portrays the inner struggles and tragic destinies of his characters. This narrative method gives the novel an artistic texture resembling poetry.

From the perspective of rhetoric, this linguistic style displays the following characteristics:

1. profound sorrow contained within emotional restraint
2. symbolic implications within delicate descriptions
3. tragic tension within calm narration

Therefore, The Setting Sun stylistically reveals the artistic quality of a lyrical novel (lyrical novel).

Concluding Analysis (Conclusion)

The Setting Sun is one of the most representative works in Osamu Dazai’s postwar literary creation. Through the fate of a declining aristocratic family, the novel profoundly presents the spiritual crisis and collapse of values experienced by Japanese society during a period of historical transformation.

In terms of artistic techniques, Osamu Dazai successfully combines multiple literary methods, including:

• psychological confession in the tradition of the I-novel
• symbolic character configuration
• a narrative structure of decline
• lyrical narrative language

Together, these artistic elements form the novel’s distinctive aesthetic style, making The Setting Sun not merely a social novel, but also a spiritual allegory with profound philosophical implications.

More importantly, The Setting Sun does not remain confined within emotions of pessimism and despair. Through the character of Kazuko, Osamu Dazai proposes a new possibility of life: even beneath the fading glow of a civilization’s sunset, human beings can still seek a new direction for life through individual will and free choice.

Therefore, The Setting Sun not only depicts the end of an era, but also implicitly contains a faint yet steadfast hope for the rebirth of life in the future.

 

2. No Longer Human (1948)

(1) Story Summary and Focused Themes

1. Story Summary

(1) A Life of Self-Disguise
The story of No Longer Human unfolds through a multi-layered narrative framework. The novel begins with a narrator, identified as an “editor,” presenting three photographs of Ōba Yōzō, each capturing a different stage of his life: the eerie smile of childhood, the distorted expressions of youth, and the unsettling countenance of adulthood. These images establish a pervasive tone of unease and alienation for the entire work.

The narrative then shifts to three notebooks left by the protagonist, Ōba Yōzō. Through these notebooks, readers gain access to Yōzō’s inner world, tracing his gradual psychological disintegration from childhood into adulthood.

Yōzō is born into a wealthy and socially prominent family, yet from an early age, he senses an insurmountable gap between himself and others. He cannot comprehend the behavioral rules of human society, nor can he form genuine emotional connections with others.

To prevent others from noticing his abnormality, Yōzō learns to mask his inner anxiety with humor and playful antics. He deliberately assumes the role of a person who entertains others, causing those around him to perceive him as cheerful and amusing. However, this comic performance is essentially a defense mechanism, designed to conceal his fear and confusion regarding human society.

Thus, Yōzō’s life is founded on “disguise” from the very beginning. While this façade allows him to appear socially integrated, it in fact deepens his isolation.

(2) Spiritual Decline During Youth
Upon reaching youth, Yōzō leaves his hometown and moves to Tokyo for education. However, university life does not facilitate genuine social integration; instead, it intensifies his inner loneliness and anxiety.

In Tokyo, he meets many friends of libertine tendencies, among whom Horiki exerts the most influence. Horiki is a hedonist who frequently takes Yōzō to bars, geisha houses, and various entertainment venues. Under Horiki’s influence, Yōzō gradually succumbs to alcohol and a life of debauchery.

Yet this lifestyle brings no real happiness. For Yōzō, indulgence and moral decay are merely means of escaping reality. He oscillates between pleasure and self-loathing, never attaining inner stability.

During this period, Yōzō also begins experimenting with painting. His artwork exhibits strong satirical and grotesque qualities, often depicting distorted expressions to critique the hypocrisy of human society. These creations reflect his profound distrust of the human world.

Consequently, the psychological structure of Yōzō’s youth becomes highly contradictory: on one hand, he yearns to be understood and accepted; on the other, he is filled with fear and revulsion toward society as a whole.

(3) Love and Self-Destruction

Throughout the development of the novel, Yōzō forms complex emotional relationships with several women. However, these relationships do not bring redemption; instead, they intensify his psychological crisis.

The most dramatic incident involves Yōzō and the bar waitress, Tsuneko, in a suicide pact. Facing life’s hardships and emotional despair, the two decide to drown themselves together. Yet the suicide attempt ultimately fails—Tsuneko dies, while Yōzō unexpectedly survives.

This event delivers a profound psychological shock to Yōzō. He bears the guilt of having survived, while society regards him as morally corrupt. From that point onward, his life descends further into chaos and moral decay.

Later, Yōzō develops relationships with other women, including the innocent and kind-hearted Yoshiko. Even within the relative stability of marriage, he remains unable to escape inner anxiety and self-denial.

When Yoshiko is violated, Yōzō’s mental state collapses completely. He believes he is incapable of protecting others and incapable of fulfilling the responsibilities expected of a normal person in society.

(4) Psychological Collapse and Social Exile

As life’s failures accumulate, Yōzō increasingly indulges in alcohol and morphine. His physical and mental condition rapidly deteriorates, eventually leading to his admission into a mental institution.

Within the institution, Yōzō delivers his final assessment of his life—he concludes that he has completely lost the qualifications to exist as a “human being,” hence calling himself “No Longer Human.”

This concept becomes the central philosophical proposition of the novel. For Yōzō, the norms, morals, and emotional connections of human society are fundamentally incomprehensible. He is never able to become a normal member of society.

Ultimately, he is sent by his family to live in the countryside, becoming a marginalized figure within society. His life does not end in a dramatic death, but continues in a state of isolation and emptiness.

This ending carries strong existential implications: the true tragedy is not death, but the loss of the capacity to establish meaningful connections with the world.

2. Focused Themes

(1) Self-Alienation and Identity Crisis

One of the core themes of No Longer Human is the profound exploration of individual self-alienation (self-alienation) in modern society. Self-alienation refers to the psychological state in which an individual gradually becomes estranged from their own essence within social and cultural structures, ultimately losing the ability to affirm their own existence and value.

The protagonist, Ōba Yōzō, experiences from childhood a seemingly insurmountable gap between himself and the surrounding world. He cannot comprehend the modes of emotional expression, social rules, or moral order within human society, leading to a growing sense of estrangement and unease.

To avoid being perceived as abnormal, Yōzō chooses to mask his inner fears with humorous and playful performances. This behavior can be considered a typical manifestation of a social mask (social mask). Through performative actions, he superficially integrates into groups, while internally becoming increasingly isolated.

On a psychological level, Yōzō develops a profound identity crisis (identity crisis). He longs to become an ordinary person and integrate into human society; yet, he continually believes he lacks the capacity to understand and participate in human life. This contradictory mindset gradually evolves into self-denial, ultimately leading him to perceive himself as a “non-human being.”

Thus, the concept of “No Longer Human” is not merely Yōzō’s self-assessment, but a symbolic self-judgment. It reveals the existential crisis that modern individuals may experience under the pressures of social structures and psychological isolation.

(2) Loneliness in Modern Society

No Longer Human is also a profound depiction of modern loneliness (modern loneliness). In a highly urbanized and institutionalized environment, relationships between people often become distant and fragile.

Within the novel, Yōzō is not entirely without social connections. He is always surrounded by friends, lovers, and family. However, most of these relationships remain superficial, lacking genuine emotional exchange and understanding.

Yōzō maintains a certain emotional distance from others. He desires to be understood, yet fears having his inner vulnerabilities exposed. As a result, he frequently adopts a defensive stance in interactions with others, using mockery or self-deprecation to avoid deep emotional connection.

From a sociological perspective, this form of loneliness is not simply social isolation, but rather a deeper spiritual isolation. Even when surrounded by people, an individual may still feel fundamentally disconnected from the world.

Thus, the experience of loneliness presented in No Longer Human reflects a broader spiritual predicament inherent in modern civilization.

(3) Moral Decay and Self-Destruction

The novel repeatedly depicts alcohol, drugs, and libertine lifestyles, which constitute key symbolic elements in Yōzō’s life trajectory. From a psychological perspective, however, this moral decay is not merely ethical corruption, but a typical self-destructive tendency (self-destructive tendency).

In psychological theory, self-destructive behaviors often stem from deep self-loathing and existential anxiety. Yōzō holds a profoundly negative attitude toward his own existence, gradually abandoning efforts to maintain a normal life order.

Alcohol and drugs carry dual symbolic meaning in the novel:

1. Tools for escaping reality – They allow Yōzō to temporarily forget inner anxiety and fear.
2. Means of self-punishment – Through physical and mental degradation, he continuously reinforces his identity as a “disqualified” person.

Therefore, Yōzō’s process of decay can be understood as a gradual movement toward existential self-destruction (existential self-destruction).

(4) Existential Anxiety and Life’s Nihilism

Philosophically, No Longer Human is deeply colored by existentialism. The characters constantly question the meaning and value of life, ultimately succumbing to profound nihilism.

Yōzō’s primary question about human society is: why can people so naturally accept established moral norms and social institutions? To him, human behavior is full of contradictions and hypocrisy, and social order rests on an unstable foundation of values.

This state of thought aligns closely with the concept of existential anxiety (existential anxiety) in existentialist philosophy. When an individual realizes that the world lacks absolute meaning and value, profound unease and nihilism may arise.

In Yōzō’s worldview:

• Traditional ethics have lost authority
• Social order lacks legitimacy
• Individual existence has no definite meaning

Consequently, he descends into an extreme form of life nihilism.

(5) Conflict Between Social Norms and Individual Freedom

No Longer Human also reveals the profound conflict between individual freedom and social norms in modern society. Modern society emphasizes personal autonomy, yet simultaneously establishes strict moral and institutional regulations.

For most people, these norms constitute the foundation of social order; for Yōzō, however, they are an incomprehensible and unmanageable framework for behavior.

Yōzō cannot conform to society’s expectations of a “normal person,” such as:

• Stable employment
• Conventional family relationships
• Morally acceptable lifestyles

Because he cannot meet these social standards, he is gradually labeled as “abnormal” and excluded from the social order.

Thus, No Longer Human highlights a central issue of modernity: when an individual’s psychological structure conflicts with social institutions, society often marks these individuals as “failures” or “deviants.”

(6) The Tragedy of the Disqualified

The concept of “No Longer Human” is not merely Yōzō’s self-evaluation; it can also be understood as a symbolic metaphor for modern civilization as a whole.

In a highly institutionalized and moralized modern society, people are often required to follow specific behavioral patterns and value standards. Those unable to conform to these norms are easily regarded as “disqualified.”

Therefore, Yōzō’s tragedy is not simply a personal psychological issue; it also reflects the structural contradictions commonly present in modern society: when social norms become overly rigid, individual differences and vulnerabilities are often left unrecognized and unaccommodated.

From this perspective, No Longer Human is not only a confessional novel of an individual, but also a literary work that deeply reflects on the spiritual predicaments of modern civilization. Yōzō’s disqualification is both a tragedy of individual existence and a symbolic representation of the contradictions inherent in modern social structures.

(II) Theoretical Analysis and Discussion

1. Narrative Structure Analysis

(1) Overall Structure

A. Layered Narrative Structure

No Longer Human exhibits an extremely complex layered narrative characteristic. Its artistic value lies not only in formal innovation but also in the high degree of coherence between structure and theme. The work consists of a preface, three notebooks, and an afterword, each layer carrying distinct narrative functions and psychological depth.

1. External Narrator (frame narrator)

The narrators of the preface and afterword are ambiguous, presented as an anonymous “editor/observer” who constructs an understanding of Yōzō through his photographs and notebooks. This narrative layer provides an objective observational perspective while forming a contrast with the internal narrator, allowing readers to perceive Yōzō’s inner world while also being aware of external social judgments and values.

2. Internal Narrator (internal narrator)

In the three notebooks, Yōzō confesses directly to the reader in the first person. This narrative strategy presents an extremely subjective psychological world:

• He reveals his fear and doubt regarding society, morality, and human relationships.
• He evaluates himself in an extremely negative way, defining his own personality as “inhuman.”
• He expresses deep skepticism about the meaning of life.

This structure forms a frame narrative: the internal narration provides profound psychological insight, while the external narration provides necessary historical and social context, achieving a delicate balance between psychological authenticity and social reflection.

Theoretically, this layered narrative serves several functions:

• Establishes an illusion of authenticity, making the notebooks appear as genuine psychological records.
• Provides complementary perspectives, allowing readers to access Yōzō’s inner mind while also understanding events from an observer’s standpoint.
• Enhances tragic tension, as the calm external narration contrasts with internal psychological collapse, amplifying the emotional impact of the tragedy.

Thus, No Longer Human is not merely a confessional novel; it is a psychological narrative experiment combining observation, documentation, and confession.

B. Narrative of Degeneration

From a macro-narrative perspective, No Longer Human presents a typical narrative of degeneration. Unlike traditional bildungsroman novels where personality matures and society is adapted to, Yōzō’s story follows an anti-development narrative path: his personality gradually disintegrates and social relationships progressively collapse.

The stages of narrative development can be summarized as follows:

1. Childhood: Fear and Disguise
From an early age, Yōzō experiences alienation and fear toward human society, developing a survival strategy of masking inner anxiety through comedic performance. This behavior functions as both a psychological defense mechanism and an early sign of personality alienation.

2. Youth: Rebellion and Degeneration
Upon entering urban life and artistic circles, Yōzō indulges in alcohol, women, and libertine lifestyles. He actively resists social order, displaying existential freedom anxiety while highlighting conflicts between society and the individual.

3. Adulthood: Mental Collapse
Failed suicide attempts, the death of lovers, and addiction gradually strip Yōzō of control over his life. His personality and psyche deteriorate, demonstrating ego disintegration in psychological terms.

4. Final Stage: No Longer Human
Yōzō declares that he has completely lost the qualification to be human, becoming an entity excluded both by society and by himself. This stage reflects the interaction of extreme psychological alienation and social exclusion.

This narrative structure possesses modernist characteristics: it rejects the linear growth model of traditional ethics and education, instead presenting personality disintegration, social disqualification, and existential void as quintessential modern dilemmas.

(2) Narrative Temporality

A. Retrospective Life Narration
The novel primarily employs retrospective narration, with Yōzō reviewing his life from its nadir, constructing an interactive structure between narrative present and narrative past:

• Narrative present: the moment Yōzō writes the notebooks
• Narrative past: his reflections on childhood, youth, and adulthood experiences

This retrospective narration carries strong self-judgment, as each memory is filtered psychologically and evaluated in terms of value, making time no longer a simple sequence of events but a psychological memory time imbued with depth and emotional tension.

B. Psychological Time and Existential Temporality
Yōzō’s narration is filled with extended psychological reflection, including:

• Doubt about human emotions
• Denial of social moral norms
• Questioning the meaning of life

These interior monologues create a psychological time, rendering external events secondary while the inner stream of consciousness becomes the core of the narrative. Features of this psychological time include:

1. Inner consciousness takes precedence over external events
2. Value judgments and emotional flow shape narrative rhythm
3. Employs stream-of-consciousness techniques characteristic of modernist novels

This temporal treatment further intensifies Yōzō’s personality alienation and existential anxiety, establishing the novel as a paradigm of the modernist psychological novel.

2. Narratology

(1) Narrative Perspective

A. First-Person Confessional Narration

The core narrative technique of the novel is Yōzō’s first-person confession. Its characteristics include:

• Directly revealing the darkest thoughts and experiences of the mind
• Strengthening psychological veracity
• Creating an intimate reading experience, as if the reader is reading a private diary
• Enhancing the impact of tragedy, making the depiction of personality collapse profoundly striking

This narrative approach continues the Japanese I-novel tradition, serving both as self-presentation and as a literary exploration of the psyche.

B. Unreliable Narrator

Although Yōzō is candid, he is also an unreliable narrator due to:

• Extremely negative self-evaluation
• Strong emotional bias in understanding events
• Potential exaggeration of his own failures and sins

The presence of an unreliable narrator requires readers to interpret the text on both psychological and social levels, creating a space for multiple readings.

(2) Narrative Strategy

A. I-Novel Confessional Strategy

Dazai Osamu continues the I-novel tradition: highly autobiographical, with the author overlapping with the protagonist, directly revealing the inner world. This strategy gives the text the texture of a true confession while literary transforming spiritual crises.

B. Symbolic Character Configuration

The characters in the novel function symbolically:

Character	Symbolic Meaning	Literary Function
Yōzō	Alienated individual; a spiritual microcosm of the inability to conform to modern societal norms	Demonstrates the conflict between personality and society under modern civilization
Horiki	Libertinism and nihilism	Highlights the temptations of urban culture and psychological crises
Yoshiko	Innocence and trust	Exposes Yōzō’s fear of human goodness and psychological barriers

Through symbolic configuration, the novel presents a panoramic view of the spiritual predicaments of modern civilization, integrating individual psychology, social norms, and existential crises.

3. Psychoanalytic Analysis

(1) Yōzō’s Personality Structure

A. Anxiety Personality

From psychological and psychoanalytic perspectives, Ōba Yōzō exhibits clear features of anxiety personality, characterized by persistent, high levels of anxiety and insecurity regarding social norms and interpersonal interactions. Such personalities are often associated with social anxiety disorder and early attachment theory in psychology.

In the novel, Yōzō experiences ineffable fear and confusion toward social norms and others’ emotional responses from childhood. For example, he finds basic human behaviors—why people become angry, deceive, or obey social rules—alien and incomprehensible. This psychological feature can be seen as an interplay of cognitive dissonance and social-emotional detachment.

To cope with this fear, Yōzō develops highly performative defense mechanisms:

• Comedic performance and humor strategies: exaggerating behavior to mask inner anxiety
• Social mask: temporarily hiding self-anxiety beneath an external role

However, this psychological defense both relieves immediate anxiety and deepens psychological distance from others, forming a self-reinforcing isolation cycle:
Fear → Performance → Self-Alienation → Intensified Anxiety → Deepened Fear

This psychological structure reveals Yōzō’s existential predicament as a modern alienated individual and exemplifies the modernist novel’s exploration of inner-world alienation and anxiety.

B. Shame and Self-Denial

Another core feature of Yōzō’s personality structure is extreme existential shame. This shame surpasses ordinary inferiority complexes, manifesting as deep existential shame: he perceives himself as fundamentally different from “normal humans” and therefore feels ashamed of his very existence.

Shame and self-denial form a psychological feedback loop:

1. Fear of society triggers performative behavior
2. Performance temporarily masks anxiety but increases self-alienation
3. Self-alienation deepens shame
4. Shame further reinforces the self-identity of “failure/abnormality”

Ultimately, Yōzō internalizes “No Longer Human” as the central judgment of his identity. This self-denial is not only a personal psychological outcome but also a symbolic reflection of postwar Japanese social values and anxieties of modern civilization.

(2) Self-Destructive Tendencies

A. Escape Mechanisms

The novel repeatedly depicts alcohol, drugs, and a debauched lifestyle, which serve not only as details of daily life but also carry psychological symbolism. According to psychoanalytic theory, Yōzō’s degenerative behavior can be understood as an escape mechanism:

• Alcohol → temporarily numbing feelings of fear
• Drugs → diminishing internal suffering
• Debauched lifestyle → providing brief stimulation and evading existential anxiety

However, these behaviors do not restore psychological order; instead, they accelerate the loss of self-control, forming a self-destructive spiral. This psychological dynamic aligns closely with chaotic consciousness and stream-of-consciousness techniques in modernist literature.

B. Death Drive

According to Freud’s theory, Yōzō’s behavior reflects the unconscious Thanatos / death drive:

• Multiple suicide attempts
• Deliberate indulgence in a destructive lifestyle
• Neglect of health and future

These behaviors demonstrate a gradual subconscious abandonment of the order of life, exhibiting characteristics of synergistic self-destruction between inner psyche and outward behavior. Psychologically, this represents an extreme form of self-alienation, resonating with the isolation and value disarray experienced by individuals in modern society.

Overall, No Longer Human functions as a psychological deconstruction novel, portraying through Yōzō’s personality structure a multi-layered process of personality disintegration, existential anxiety, and mental collapse.

4. Rhetorical Analysis

(1) Symbolism

A. Photographic Symbolism

The novel’s beginning and ending reference Yōzō’s three photographs, forming a visual symbolic system:

1. Adolescence: rigid expression, unnatural smile → beginning of self-disguise
2. Young adulthood: anxious and twisted smile → psychological contradiction and social conflict
3. Late adulthood: hollow expression, almost lifeless → extreme personality disintegration

The photographs symbolize Yōzō’s progression from self-disguise → psychological collapse → hollowed psyche, echoing symbolic temporality and consciousness mapping in modernist literature regarding time, existence, and mental states.

B. Mask Imagery

Comedic performances and humorous behavior constitute Yōzō’s social mask, symbolizing his estranged relationship with society. In modern literature, masks represent social performance, and for Yōzō:

• Mask → avoiding social rejection
• Mask → concealing fear and vulnerability
• Mask → deepening self-alienation

The mask imagery in the narrative carries psychological meaning and embodies Dazai Osamu’s profound reflection on postwar social alienation and mental disorder.

(2) Stylistic Features

A. Confessional Style

Dazai Osamu employs a highly personalized, confessional literary style, characterized by:

• Direct and intense emotional expression
• Extensive inner monologues and psychological description
• A tone of self-analysis

This stylistic approach enhances psychological veracity, allowing readers to feel Yōzō’s isolation, fear, and shame, creating an intimate psychodynamic reading experience.

B. Poetic Tragic Tone

Although a psychological novel, the language exhibits a poetic tragic tone:

• The calm narration contrasts with deep suffering
• Self-mocking tone highlights existential anxiety
• Emotional tension and rhythmic language construct a unique tragic aesthetic

This linguistic strategy not only conveys psychological truth but also mirrors the interplay between inner consciousness and external narration characteristic of modernist literature.