Self-Portraits brings together the best autobiographical shorts by Osamu Dazai, showcasing the legendary writer at both his best and his worst. This slim volume presents Dazai’s unique voice, capturing his essence as Japan’s quintessential rebel writer.

"Art dies the moment it acquires authority." With these words, Dazai, disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the establishment from the country’s outdated aristocracy to its warmongering generals carved his own path, even at the cost of his own life and the lives of others. Faced with immense societal pressure, Dazai declared his individuality to the world in all its self-involved, self-conscious, and self-hating glory. In his view, "Art is 'I.'"

These autobiographical stories, translated by Ralph McCarthy, offer an intimate look at how Dazai's life mirrored his art. As the writer/narrator falls from grace, rises to fame, and falls again, themes of addiction, debt, shame, and despair surface elements that plagued Dazai until his self-inflicted death. Despite the lies and deception that defined his life, there remains an almost fanatical honesty in his writing. This stark transparency has made him a hero to generations of readers who see reflected in his works the painful contradictions of social life the demand to fit in and obey and the fleeting possibility of defiance.

Long out of print, Self-Portraits offers a rare opportunity for both new and seasoned fans of Dazai’s works, such as No Longer Human, The Setting Sun, and The Flowers of Buffoonery, to experience the depth of his raw, unflinching storytelling.