Shūji Tsushima was born on June 19, 1909, the eighth surviving child of a wealthy landowner and politician in Kanagi, located in the northern tip of Tōhoku in Aomori Prefecture. … See more

Dazai kept his promise and settled down a bit. He managed to obtain the assistance of established writer Masuji Ibuse, whose connections helped … See more

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 … See more

In 1916, Dazai began his education at Kanagi Elementary. On March 4, 1923, his father Gen'emon died from lung cancer. A month later, in April, … See more

In 1929, when its principal's misappropriation of public funds was discovered at Hirosaki High School, the students, under the leadership of Ueda Shigehiko (Ishigami … See more

Japan widened the Pacific War by attacking the United States in December, but Dazai was excused from the draft because of his chronic chest problems, as he was diagnosed … See more

On June 13, 1948, Dazai and Tomie drowned themselves in the rain-swollen Tamagawa Canal, near his house. Their bodies were not discovered until six days later, on June 19, which would have been his 39th birthday. His grave is at the temple of Zenrin-ji, in See more