No Longer Human
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
novel
by Osamu Dazai
. Published after Run Melos and The Setting Sun
, No Longer Human is considered Dazai's masterpiece and ranks as the second-best selling novel in Japan, behind Kokoro
.
The literal translation of the title discussed by Donald Keene in his preface to the English translation, is disqualified from being human. (The Italian translation was titled Lo squalificato, The Disqualified.)
This novel, despite being serialized as a work of fiction in 1948, is narrated in the first person and contains several elements which betray an autobiographical basis, such as suicide—a recurring theme in the author's life.
Many also believe the book to have been his will
, as he took his own life shortly after the last part of the book (it was serialized) was published, on June 13, 1948. This is not accurate, though, as he had started work on it long before.
No Longer Human is told in the form of notebooks left by one , a troubled man incapable of revealing his true self
to others, and who is instead forced to uphold a facade of hollow jocularity.
Ōba refers to himself throughout the book using the reflexive pronoun , whereas the personal pronoun is used both in the foreword
and afterword
to the book by the writer, whose name is unclear. The name of the main character, Ōba, is actually taken from one of Dazai's early works, .
Dazai might have been a sufferer of complex post-traumatic stress disorder
whilst writing the book. Mike Lew has praised the book for expressing male sexual trauma.
The story is bookended with two other, shorter chapters from the point of view of a neutral observer, who sees three photos of Ōba and eventually tracks down one of the characters who knew him personally.
, the producer responsible for the award-winning Zigeunerweisen
in 1980. Filming started in July, and it was released on February 20, 2010.
The film stars Toma Ikuta
(24) as Ōba Yōzō, a young man who finds it hard to relate to the world around him, but masks this sense of alienation with a jovial demeanor. Still, his life spirals toward self-destruction. Actress Satomi Ishihara
(22) plays one of the several women in his life, and the only one he marries.
The film was marketed outside of Japan under the title Fallen Angel.
Other filmmakers in Japan have also been paying tribute to Osamu Dazai's work by adapting it to the big screen. His 1945 novel Pandora no Hako (Pandora
's Box) has also been turned into a movie, directed by Masanori Tominaga.
that was released in 2009. The anime won the Platinum Grand Prize at the Future Film festival in Italy.
published a manga version of No Longer Human in Comic Bunch magazine beginning in 2009's volume 10, to be published by Vertical, Inc in 2011.
Yasunori Ninose published another manga version of No Longer Human, titled Ningen Shikkaku Kai (壊,kai=destruction), in Champion Red
from April to July in 2010 in the Japanese language. Unlike Furuya's version, this manga depicts human beings' negative emotion and sexual intercourse as tentacles, which have enthralled Ninose since he was five years old.
A third version (ISBN 978-4872578102), a straight retelling of the story in its original pre-WWII setting, was commissioned for the Manga de Dokuha series (comic adaptations of classic literature), published by Gakken
.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Osamu Dazai
Osamu Dazai
was a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th-century Japan.-Biography:-Early life:Dazai was born , the eighth surviving child of a wealthy landowner in Kanagi, a remote corner of Japan at the northern tip of Tōhoku in Aomori Prefecture...
. Published after Run Melos and The Setting Sun
The Setting Sun
is a Japanese novel by Osamu Dazai. It was published in 1947 and is set in Japan after World War II. Principal characters are the siblings Kazuko and Naoji, and their elderly mother. The story shows a family in decline and crisis, like many other families during this period of transition between...
, No Longer Human is considered Dazai's masterpiece and ranks as the second-best selling novel in Japan, behind Kokoro
Kokoro
is a novel by the Japanese author Natsume Sōseki. It was first published in 1914 in serial form in the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shinbun. While the title literally means "heart", the word contains shades of meaning, and can be translated as "the heart of things" or "feeling"...
.
The literal translation of the title discussed by Donald Keene in his preface to the English translation, is disqualified from being human. (The Italian translation was titled Lo squalificato, The Disqualified.)
This novel, despite being serialized as a work of fiction in 1948, is narrated in the first person and contains several elements which betray an autobiographical basis, such as suicide—a recurring theme in the author's life.
Many also believe the book to have been his will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
, as he took his own life shortly after the last part of the book (it was serialized) was published, on June 13, 1948. This is not accurate, though, as he had started work on it long before.
No Longer Human is told in the form of notebooks left by one , a troubled man incapable of revealing his true self
Self
The self is an individual person as the object of his or her own reflective consciousness. The self has been studied extensively by philosophers and psychologists and is central to many world religions.-Philosophy:...
to others, and who is instead forced to uphold a facade of hollow jocularity.
Ōba refers to himself throughout the book using the reflexive pronoun , whereas the personal pronoun is used both in the foreword
Foreword
A foreword is a piece of writing sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the writer of the foreword and the book's primary author or the story the book tells...
and afterword
Afterword
An afterword is a literary device that is often found at the end of a piece of literature. It generally covers the story of how the book came into being, or of how the idea for the book was developed....
to the book by the writer, whose name is unclear. The name of the main character, Ōba, is actually taken from one of Dazai's early works, .
Dazai might have been a sufferer of complex post-traumatic stress disorder
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder
Complex post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological injury that results from protracted exposure to prolonged social and/or interpersonal trauma with lack or loss of control, disempowerment, and in the context of either captivity or entrapment, i.e. the lack of a viable escape route for the...
whilst writing the book. Mike Lew has praised the book for expressing male sexual trauma.
Plot outline
The novel is composed of three chapters, or "memoranda", which chronicle the life of Ōba from early childhood to late twenties.- First Memorandum - Overcome by an intense feeling of alienation and finding it nearly impossible to socialize with those who surround him, Ōba can't help but resort to buffoonery in order to establish interpersonal relationshipInterpersonal relationshipAn interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the...
s and engage in a vain attempt to forget the abuse he was subjected to by a female servant during his childhood.
- Second Memorandum - Ōba becomes increasingly concerned over the potential penetrability of his cheerful facade. He neglects his universityUniversityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
studies. Under the influence of a fellow artist he meets at a painting class, Horiki, he descends into a vicious cycle of drinking, smoking and harlotry, culminating in a one-night standOne-night standOriginally, a one-night stand was a single theatre performance, usually by a guest performer on tour, as opposed to an ongoing engagement. Today, however, the term is more commonly defined as a single sexual encounter, in which neither participant has any intention or expectation of a relationship...
with a married woman with whom he intends to commit double suicide by drowning. Though he survives, she dies, leaving him with nothing but an excruciating feeling of guiltGuiltGuilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
.
- Third Memorandum, Part One - Ōba is expelled from university, and comes under the case of a friend of the family. He tries to have a normal relationship with a single mother, serving as a surrogate father to her little girl, but abandons them in favor of living with the madam of a bar he patronizes. Later, he falls into a relationship with a young and naïve woman.
- Third Memorandum, Part Two - Thanks to this woman's grounding influence on his life, Ōba stops drinking and finds gainful work as a cartoonist. Then Horiki shows up, turning Ōba to self-destructivity again. Worse, Ōba becomes estranged from his wife following an incident where she is sexually assaulted by a casual acquaintance. Over time Ōba becomes an alcoholicAlcoholismAlcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and a morphineMorphineMorphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
addict. He is eventually confined to a mental institution, and, upon release, moves to an isolated place, concluding the story with numb self-reflection.
The story is bookended with two other, shorter chapters from the point of view of a neutral observer, who sees three photos of Ōba and eventually tracks down one of the characters who knew him personally.
Movie
Osamu Dazai's Ningen Shikkaku was adapted to film in 2009, the 100th anniversary of Dazai's birth. The film was directed by Genjiro AratoGenjiro Arato
is a Japanese film producer, actor and director. In 1980, he produced Zigeunerweisen for director Seijun Suzuki. He was unable to secure exhibitors for the film and famously exhibited it himself in a specially-built, inflatable, mobile tent...
, the producer responsible for the award-winning Zigeunerweisen
Zigeunerweisen (film)
is a 1980 independent Japanese film directed by Seijun Suzuki and based on Hyakken Uchida's novel, Disk of Sarasate. It takes its title from a gramophone recording of Pablo de Sarasate's violin composition, Zigeunerweisen, which features prominently in the story...
in 1980. Filming started in July, and it was released on February 20, 2010.
The film stars Toma Ikuta
Toma Ikuta
is a Japanese talent artist part of Johnny's Jr. under the supervision of Johnny & Associates.-Career :Ikuta Toma used to be in a variety show for kids called Tensai Terebi kun. Being a member of a then all-children band called Strawberry Parfait, he was popular with the audience...
(24) as Ōba Yōzō, a young man who finds it hard to relate to the world around him, but masks this sense of alienation with a jovial demeanor. Still, his life spirals toward self-destruction. Actress Satomi Ishihara
Satomi Ishihara
is a Japanese actress.Popular mostly among Japanese fans, she gained recognition for her acting talent. She started taking parts acting in Japanese dramas in 2003. Also, she appeared in various commercial events also known as public relations...
(22) plays one of the several women in his life, and the only one he marries.
The film was marketed outside of Japan under the title Fallen Angel.
Other filmmakers in Japan have also been paying tribute to Osamu Dazai's work by adapting it to the big screen. His 1945 novel Pandora no Hako (Pandora
Pandora
In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. As Hesiod related it, each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts...
's Box) has also been turned into a movie, directed by Masanori Tominaga.
Anime
Another adaption of the story was told in the four first episodes of the anime series Aoi BungakuAoi Bungaku
is a twelve episodes anime series featuring adaptations inspired by six short stories from Japanese literature. The six stories are adapted from classic Japanese tales.-Stories Adapted:...
that was released in 2009. The anime won the Platinum Grand Prize at the Future Film festival in Italy.
Manga
Usamaru FuruyaUsamaru Furuya
is a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Tama Art University where he majored in oil painting and developed an interest in sculpting and Butoh dance....
published a manga version of No Longer Human in Comic Bunch magazine beginning in 2009's volume 10, to be published by Vertical, Inc in 2011.
Yasunori Ninose published another manga version of No Longer Human, titled Ningen Shikkaku Kai (壊,kai=destruction), in Champion Red
Champion Red
is a monthly Japanese shōnen manga magazine published on the 19th each month by Akita Shoten since . is a special edition of Champion Red.-Current serializations:*Chaotic Rune Es*Domina No Do!*Desperado*Franken Fran...
from April to July in 2010 in the Japanese language. Unlike Furuya's version, this manga depicts human beings' negative emotion and sexual intercourse as tentacles, which have enthralled Ninose since he was five years old.
A third version (ISBN 978-4872578102), a straight retelling of the story in its original pre-WWII setting, was commissioned for the Manga de Dokuha series (comic adaptations of classic literature), published by Gakken
Gakken
is a Japanese publishing company founded in 1947 by Hideto Furuoka, which also produces educational toys. Their annual sales is reported at ¥ 821 billion ....
.