Osamu Dazai, however, was one such figure who didn't fit the saint template. Born in 1909 into a large, wealthy family in Aomori Prefecture, Dazai had a sheltered upbringing, though his mother was ...

The author Osamu Dazai committed suicide — several times. The first was on a cold December night in 1929, just before his school exams. But the overdose of sleeping pills he took was not enough ...