Sachiyo Takano, a charismatic young woman, travels from the countryside to a bustling prewar Tokyo, where she meets an irresistible stranger. They spend the night together, but things go sideways and never quite straightens out. Sachiyo wakes up in a hotel room, having survived a drug overdose, while her lover, whom she learns was an anarchist and a wanted criminal, is dead. The Phoenix chronicles how she rises from the ashes of this debacle--having heartfelt conversations friends in the bars in Shinjuku and Asakusa, performing in a Chekhov play, finding herself in a love triangle, and chasing her new ambition of becoming an actress--even as the men drawn to Sachiyo continue to tear each other apart.

Appearing in translation for the first time ever, The Phoenix is classic Osamu Dazai at his poignant, cinematic, and euphoric best.