No Longer Human – A Record of One Man's Disqualification

 

 

 

1. About the Author – Osamu Dazai's Life and Tragedy

Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) was a novelist from Aomori, Japan, and one of the most tragic figures in Japanese literature. While producing masterpieces that encapsulated modern Japanese literature, he constantly wandered between life and death. Multiple suicide attempts, alcohol addiction, and complex relationships are directly embedded in his writing. No Longer Human is the autobiographical novel written at the peak of his suffering. It was also his last full-length novel. Not long after the publication, Dazai and his lover threw themselves into the Tamagawa River and ended their lives. This work is thus a mirror reflecting his innermost self and delivers sharp, existential questions to the reader.

2. Detailed Plot Summary – The Record of "Me"

Part 1 – A Childhood Defended by Laughter

The novel begins in a frame narrative. An anonymous editor discovers three photos and three notebooks of a man named Yozo. The story unfolds through these records. Yozo, who calls himself “disqualified as a human,” candidly confesses his life. As a child, he feared showing his true feelings. He constantly acted funny and entertained others to hide his anxiety. He became a clown. Behind the mask, however, lay deep distrust and fear of people. His father was authoritative and silent, his brother cold. Only the servants offered warmth. In school, he appeared cheerful, but internally he felt crushed by others’ expectations. This duality wore him down.

Part 2 – Chaos in Tokyo and a Suicide Attempt

Upon moving to Tokyo for university, Yozo's life begins to unravel. Overwhelmed by social anxiety and low self-esteem, he fails at school and descends into a life of dissipation. He moves in with a woman and attempts a double suicide. She dies. He survives. The guilt and despair are immense. He mingles with artists, dabbles in drugs, alcohol, and women. A brief relationship with Tsuneko gives temporary peace, but she leaves him, and his collapse resumes.

 

Part 3 – Complete Withdrawal from Society

Yozo becomes unable to live without others’ help. Even those who try to save him are betrayed or abandoned by him. He lives with a gentle woman named Yoshiko and dreams of a normal life. She is a rare warm presence. But his distrust of the world persists. One day, a friend visits. While Yozo is away, the man rapes Yoshiko. Her purity violated, Yozo is shattered. He spirals into addiction, madness, and ultimately is committed to a mental institution. In his final notes, he declares himself disqualified as a human and confesses how he lost his humanity.

3. Brief Reflection – What Is It to Be Human?

No Longer Human is deeply unsettling. Narrated in the first person, it feels as though the reader is not just observing Yozo’s mind but inhabiting it. The realization is stark: a life trapped within one’s self eventually leads to distortion and isolation. Pursuing only the voice inside narrows the understanding of others and darkens both the world and the self. Every person contains both light and shadow. No one is purely good or evil. Yet when darkness repeatedly targets someone like Yozo, it might not be weakness but the natural result of prolonged pain.

4. Recommended Reading

• Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoevsky: The clash of guilt and salvation within the human psyche.
• The Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka: A descent into alienation through the lens of non-human transformation.
• The Poet – Yi Mun-yol: A tragic Korean tale of artistic self-destruction and identity collapse.