The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai is a moving story about a once-noble family in postwar Japan trying to survive in a world that has completely changed. Told through the eyes of Kazuko, a strong yet heartbroken woman, the novel follows her struggle to adapt to poverty, loss, and shifting values after Japan’s defeat. As she watches her mother’s decline and her brother’s self-destruction, Kazuko begins to question what it means to live with dignity in a collapsing society.

Written in Dazai’s honest and emotional style, The Setting Sun captures the pain of a generation facing the end of old ideals—and the search for hope in the ruins of the past.