Ango Sakaguchi

Every year on February 17, we mark the death anniversary of Sakaguchi Ango — one of the most iconic novelists of Japan’s Showa era — who passed away in 1955. Best known for works such as Discourse on Decadence (Darakuron) and The Idiot (Hakuchi), Ango rose to prominence in the turbulent post-war years with a provocative call: “Human beings — fall, more honestly.”