No Longer Human, Osamu Dazai’s most famous novel, blurs the line between life and literature. Its protagonist Ōba Yōzō mirrors Dazai’s own struggles yet fights to carve out his own existence, only to spiral deeper into despair. In the end, the fates of author and character meet in a haunting, final overlap.

The Decadent School writer Osamu Dazai infused No Longer Human with his own life experiences, shaping the complex inner world of its protagonist, Ōba Yōzō. While Yōzō’s path mirrors Dazai’s in many ways, he refuses to merely replicate another man’s fate. Instead, he rebels, searching for proof of his own existence, only to grow more lost and disoriented with each encounter. In the end, the parallel lives of Dazai and Yōzō converge one final time, blurring the boundary between author and creation.