I guess perhaps world war, fate of Japan in it played major role in the way modern Japanese literature has come out for people there might have felt disaffection, utter loss of purpose and the difficulty in coping up with defeat in the World War II might have also played major role in it. You may well find traits of nihilism, existentialism well evident in the works of probably all great modern Japanese authors. Though I’ve started to read Japanese literature last year only (so couldn’t really claim myself to be master of it :P) however I find most of the modern Japanese authors- whether it is Kwabata, Abe, Mishima or Dazai for that matter- have been able to portray problems or rather ironies of human existence and so effortlessly put forth the condition of human consciousness on the canvas of art that it’s only second (to me) to modern Russian literature. I find that plot development and action have often been of secondary interest to emotional issues and most of the modern Japanese authors stressed upon consciousness of narrators and perhaps that why it has resonated so well with me.

What is it with Japanese literature, I always feel a sense of awe whenever I plunge myself into artistic universe of the country of rising sun and Osamu Dazai does no harm to the reputation of it. This romantic displacement only furthers to deepen her alienation from society. When he returns, Kazuko attempts to form a liaison with the novelist Uehara. Her brother, who became addicted to opium during the war is missing. Kazuko’s mother falls ill, and due to their financial circumstances they are forced to take a cottage in the countryside. It is a sad story, and structurally is a novel very much within the confines of the Japanese take on the novel in a way reminiscent of authors such as Nobel Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata – the social interactions are peripheral and understated, nuances must be drawn, and for readers more used to Western novelistic forms this comes across as being rather wishy-washy.

Her search for self meaning in a society devoid of use for her forms the crux of Dazai’s novel. The story is told through the eyes of Kazuko, the unmarried daughter of a widowed aristocrat. Osamu Dazai’s The Setting Sun takes this milieu as its background to tell the story of the decline of a minor aristocratic family. The post-war period in Japan was one of immense social change as Japanese society adjusted to the shock of defeat and to the occupation of Japan by American forces and their allies.

Dazai osamu books