Dazai recently gained new popularity because of the rediscovery of “No Longer Human” on TikTok and a pair of anime shows that use him — or obvious analogs for him — as a protagonist ...

The portrait had been in the possession of Tatsu Ishii (1923-1964), an editor in charge of Dazai’s “No Longer Human” and other works. But he died without providing details about the piece.

Writing is a famously miserable profession, but Osamu Dazai stands out as one of the most despondent writers ever to live. That strain is everywhere in evidence in his work, but it is on special ...