[2] In 1930, while enrolled at the University of Tokyo, Dazai was visited by Koyama Hatsuyo, a Geisha whom he had known since he was in high school in Aomori.

[3] Shortly thereafter, feeling isolated from Hatsuyo and disapproval from his family, Dazai attempted double suicide with Shimeko Tanabe, a waitress.

It also became clear that Dazai, who hadn’t attended school since shortly after his older brother, Keiji’s, death in 1930, would not be able to graduate.

He began by writing Recollections, an extremely autobiographical story originally imagined as a type of suicide note.

[2] The Final Years as well as some of Dazai’s stories that came after, were published in and around the events leading up to and in World War II.

Readers are never told the character’s name but at one point, the narrator mentions that their grandmother would sometimes jokingly call her grandchild “Kichizo”.

Short verses of poetry as well as brief thoughts or statements that reflect the character’s outlook on life (also known as pensées[10]) are also thrown into the mix.

[11][12] Some memories tell about the character’s struggles with school, his health, and growing up as well as his ever changing and challenging circumstances.

[11][12] Undine (Japanese: 魚服記, Hepburn: Gyofukuki), alternatively translated as Metamorphosis,[2] is a short story about a girl named Suwa who lives alone with her father.

The story begins with the main character (no name is given) arriving upon a dark foreign island shrouded in mist after a long voyage.

[1] Losing Ground (Japanese: 逆行, Hepburn: Gyakkō), alternatively translated as Regression,[4] is the tenth story in The Final Years.

[1] The stories contained in The Final Years show a variety of different themes and outlooks on life as well as demonstrate the many different styles of writing Dazai was capable of.

[13] The meta-autobiographical style found throughout several of the stories in The Final Years is a literary genre developed in Japan, known as the I-novel.

[4] Many of the other writing forms that Dazai would later become well known for, such as the historical fiction and satire, are also found in The Final Years, in Chikyuuzu and Monkey Island, respectively.

Similarly, many of the character archetypes that would appear in many of Dazai's later work, such as the vulnerable or abused woman, the con man, and that of the writer who has grown tired of life.

[2] According to James O'Brien, who translated many of Dazai's literary works into English, Japanese critics often describe Recollections as an autobiography of sorts.

[12] In regards to Monkey Island, O’Brien claims that the story is not referencing a true breakout from the London zoo, but is more of a depiction of Japan breaking free from some unfair treaties with other foreign powers.

Undine contains similar themes, as well as some connection to events in Dazai's own life, such as his own suicide attempt by drowning.

[3] Dazai’s story Losing Ground was one of four runner ups for the first Akutagawa Prize, though it was harshly criticized by Yasunari Kawabata, already a prominent author at the time and one of the judges.