Womanizer

The womanizer is a defining state of Yozo, the protagonist of No Longer Human, characterized by an inexplicable aura that attracts women and leads to a series of dependent, destructive relationships. This quality, first prophesied by his schoolmate Takeichi, becomes a central force in Yozo's life of shame, shaping his interactions with women from prostitutes to his wife, and ultimately contributing to his social and psychological disintegration.

Origin and Prophecy

The womanizer state originates not from Yozo's active pursuit but from a passive, almost demoniacal prophecy. In high school, after Yozo cleans the pus from Takeichi's infected ears, Takeichi comments, "I'll bet lots of women will fall for you!" This illiterate compliment, which Yozo later recognizes as a "demoniacal prophecy, more horrible than Takeichi could have realized," marks the beginning of a self-fulfilling curse. Yozo's reaction at the time was merely to blush and smile, but he already had a faint inkling of its implications. The prophecy is later reinforced by Horiki, who points out that Yozo has acquired an "odor of the 'lady-killer'" through his apprenticeship with prostitutes, an atmosphere that women instinctively detect.

Mechanism and Manifestation

The womanizer state operates through Yozo's profound fear of human beings and his compensatory clowning. Women, he observes, are less demanding than men when it comes to his antics, and they flock to him because of his timid, funny, and lonely demeanor. As Shizuko tells him, "Most women have only to lay eyes on you to want to be doing something for you so badly they can't stand it... You're always so timid and yet you're funny... Sometimes you get terribly lonesome and depressed, but that only makes a woman's heart itch all the more for you." This quality leads to a series of relationships where Yozo is "looked after" rather than loved, from the prostitutes who offer him "friendliness with no ulterior motive" to the women who become his keepers. The state is marked by a fundamental passivity: Yozo does not seduce; he is fallen for.

Consequences and Relationships

The womanizer state has devastating consequences for both Yozo and the women in his life. It leads to his first suicide attempt with Tsuneko, a married woman with whom he felt a rare, positive movement of love. After her death, he reflects, "Of all the people I had ever known, that miserable Tsuneko really was the only one I loved." The state also traps him in a series of dependent relationships: with Shizuko, a journalist who becomes his keeper after he runs away from Flatfish; with the madam of the Kyobashi bar; and ultimately with Yoshiko, the virgin he marries in a desperate attempt to find "that great savage joy." Even after marriage, the womanizer aura persists, as Horiki continues to visit, calling out, "Is the lady-killer at home?" The most tragic consequence is the violation of Yoshiko, which Yozo blames on her "immaculate trustfulness" and his own unworthiness, leading to his final descent into alcoholism and morphine addiction.

Thematic Significance

The womanizer state is central to the novel's exploration of shame, alienation, and the impossibility of genuine human connection. Yozo's ability to attract women is not a source of power or joy but a curse that deepens his sense of being "disqualified as a human being." The state reflects his inability to form reciprocal relationships; he is always the object of affection, never the subject. This one-sided dynamic reinforces his conviction that he is fundamentally different from others, a "social outcast" from birth. The womanizer state, like his clowning, is a mask that ultimately fails to protect him from the horror of human existence, leaving him with nothing but the refrain, "Everything passes."