When suffering becomes constant, physical pain and emotional exhaustion stop feeling like ideas. They become part of everyday life. For someone living through long-term trauma, punishment feels real and easy to believe, while peace or happiness can seem distant and impossible.Japanese author Osamu Dazai captured this feeling in his 1948 semi-autobiographical novel No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku) with one of its most memorable lines: “I could believe in hell, but it was impossible for me to believe in the existence of heaven.” The quote speaks directly to the experience of deep depression and loneliness. Dazai was not writing about heaven and hell as actual places after death. Instead, he used them as symbols of the human mind. Pain proves itself through daily experience, while hope often requires faith that a struggling person may no longer have. The line still resonates because it describes a state where suffering feels certain, but happiness feels impossible to imagine.
Dazai and post-war Japan
Osamu Dazai, born Shūji Tsushima in 1909, wrote No Longer Human shortly after the Second World War. Japan had been devastated by the conflict, and many people were struggling to make sense of a country that had lost both its physical strength and its national identity.Dazai belonged to the Burai-ha, or Decadent School, a group of writers known for exploring themes such as alienation, despair, addiction, and personal failure. No Longer Human was published in serial form between June and August 1948. The novel is presented as three notebooks written by a troubled man named Yozo Oba, whose life closely reflects Dazai’s own experiences.Through Yozo, Dazai described his lifelong struggle to connect with other people. The novel also explores alcoholism, morphine addiction, depression, and repeated suicide attempts. Shortly after finishing the book in 1948, Dazai died by suicide in Tokyo’s Tamagawa Canal alongside his companion, Tomie Yamazaki. He was 38 years old, and his body was found on June 19, his 39th birthday.
Why suffering feels more real than hope
Modern psychology helps explain the feeling behind Dazai’s famous quote. People with severe depression often develop what psychologists call a negative cognitive bias. This means the brain treats painful experiences as undeniable facts while dismissing positive experiences as temporary, unlikely, or unreal.Dazai’s idea is also similar to the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer. In The World as Will and Representation (1818), Schopenhauer argued that pain is the normal state of life because it demands our attention, while pleasure is simply the absence of pain. In other words, suffering feels more real because we experience it directly.His writing also connects with the ideas of French philosopher Albert Camus in The Myth of Sisyphus (1942). Camus believed people constantly search for meaning in a world that does not provide clear answers. Dazai takes that idea further. In Yozo’s life, the world is not just meaningless—it feels actively painful, offering suffering without comfort.
Why the quote still matters today
No Longer Human remains one of Japan’s best-selling novels, second only to Natsume Sōseki’s Kokoro. In recent years, it has reached even more readers through Junji Ito’s graphic novel adaptation and growing interest among younger generations dealing with anxiety, loneliness, and uncertainty.The emotional pattern Dazai described is still relevant today. Studies on doomscrolling and digital burnout, including research discussed by the American Psychological Association, suggest that constant exposure to bad news can make people see crisis as normal. When negative events dominate everyday life, hope can begin to feel unrealistic.A similar pattern appears in workplace burnout. Research by Gallup has found that people under long-term stress often stop focusing on future goals and instead concentrate only on getting through each day and avoiding further harm.Dazai expressed a truth that continues to resonate: the human mind often finds it easier to believe in suffering than in peace. By honestly describing his own feelings of isolation and despair, he created a work that still speaks to readers nearly eighty years later.
A book that still connects with readers
One reason No Longer Human has remained popular for decades is that many readers see parts of themselves in Yozo Oba. Even though the novel was written in Japan after World War II, its themes of loneliness, insecurity, and feeling like an outsider still feel relevant today. The original Japanese title, Ningen Shikkaku, is closer in meaning to “Disqualified as a Human Being.” It reflects Yozo’s deep belief that he has failed at being human, not just that he is unhappy.The novel has also found new readers through modern adaptations. Manga artist Junji Ito turned No Longer Human into a graphic novel, using his dark art style to show Yozo’s emotional decline. While the visuals are different, the story stays true to Dazai’s original work and has introduced the novel to many younger readers who may not have discovered it otherwise.Many believe Dazai’s greatest strength was showing what it feels like to hide your true self. Throughout the novel, Yozo constantly acts like someone else just to fit in, while feeling completely alone inside. That struggle still speaks to many people today, especially in a time when social media often encourages people to present perfect versions of their lives while hiding what they are really going through.
