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Book Cover for: Osamu Dazai's the Setting Sun: The Manga Edition, Osamu Dazai

Osamu Dazai's the Setting Sun: The Manga Edition

Osamu Dazai

A classic of Japanese literature, brought to life in English & manga for the first time!

This is the first manga edition in English of The Setting Sun, Osamu Dazai's classic novel, often considered his masterpiece.

Set in the aftermath of World War II, this is the story of Kazuko, a strong-willed young woman from an aristocratic family that has fallen into poverty since the war. The book follows Kazuko's journey as she and her family struggle to survive and adapt to the harsh new conditions. In addition to having to move from Tokyo to the countryside, where she is forced to work in the fields to support the family, she has to deal with a difficult divorce, the birth of a stillborn child, and the return of her drug-addicted brother from the war. This gripping and inspiring portrait of one woman's determination to survive in a society that is in the grip of a social and moral crisis tells one story in a fast-changing world, with universal themes that resonates with readers today.

After Soseki Natsume, Osamu Dazai is Japan's most popular writer. Dazai is enjoying a surge in interest among young people today thanks to the success of the manga, anime and film series Bungo Stray Dogs, whose protagonist, a detective named Osamu Dazai, is based on the real-life author.

**Recommended for readers ages 16+ due to mature themes and graphic content**

Book Details

  • Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
  • Publish Date: Mar 12nd, 2024
  • Pages: 192
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.90in - 5.50in - 0.60in - 0.65lb
  • EAN: 9784805317617
  • Categories: LiteraryAsian - Japanese

About the Author

Osamu Dazai (1909 - 1948) was the pen name of Shuji Tsushima, the tenth of eleven children born to a wealthy landowner and politician. Dazai studied French literature at the University of Tokyo, eventually leaving without a degree. He first attracted attention in 1933 when magazines began to publish his work. Between 1930 and 1937, he made three suicide attempts, a subject he dealt with in many of his short stories. Despite his troubled life and rebellious spirit, Dazai wrote in simple and colloquial style, conveying his own experiences in his best work. Dazai's life ended early in a double suicide with a married lover.

Retold and Illustrated by Cocco Kashiwaya, born 1970, is a Tokyo-based manga artist. In 2010, her manga serial Rikon Dokyo was made into a national TV drama in Japan.

More books by Osamu Dazai

Book Cover for: No Longer Human, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: Schoolgirl, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: The Setting Sun, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: The Beggar Student, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: No One Knows, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: The Flowers of Buffoonery, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: Self-Portraits: Stories, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: The Real Osamu Dazai: A Life in Twenty Stories, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: No Longer Human Complete Edition (Manga), Usamaru Furuya
Book Cover for: No Longer Human: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition), Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: Daffodil, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: Pandora's Box, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human: The Manga Edition, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: A Shameful Life: (Ningen Shikkaku), Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: Home to Tsugaru, Osamu Dazai
Book Cover for: The Setting Sun: A New Translation, Osamu Dazai

Praise for this book

"Dazai's brand of egoistic pessimism dovetails organically with the emo chic of this cultural moment...and with the inner lives of teenagers of all eras." -- Andrew Martin, The New York Times
"Though not as autobiographical as Dazai's subsequent novel, No Longer Human, The Setting Sun draws heavily on his experiences...[and] would transform its author into a celebrity, the literary poster child for Japan's postwar malaise..." --The Japan Times