Setting Sun

The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai portrays the decline of an aristocratic family against the backdrop of a chaotic and melancholic Japan after World War II. The story revolves around a mother and daughter, Kazuko. They moved to Izu for a simpler life due to their deteriorating financial situation, relying on each other for support. Their peaceful existence was disrupted when Kazuko's younger brother, Naoji, returned from military service. Naoji, falling into alcoholism and drug addiction, reflects the author's own troubled past, while Kazuko, who determined to pursue 'love and revolution' at all costs, embodies the author's spiritual anguish during the war. The mother, in turn, embodies the author's aristocratic sentiments and aesthetic ideals, like a sunset shining through the storm, symbolizing the 'setting sun'.