Tayama Katai, pseudonym of Tayama Rokuya, was born in 1872 into a samurai family in Yatebayashi, in what is now Gunma Prefecture. His father's death when he was only five years old led his family to move to Tokyo, where the young Tayama began working in a bookstore and was introduced to the world of literature. Tayama started by writing poetry, but soon turned to the novel and, in 1891, became a disciple of Emi Suuin (1869-1934), a member of the Ken'yūsha group. In the mid-1890s, he joined the group associated with the magazine Bungakukai and befriended Kunikida Doppo (1871-1908), who introduced him to European authors such as Turgenev, Heine, and Zola, whose influence would be decisive in his work.

The 1900s were Tayama's most prolific decade, during which he published his first successful novel, The Last Jūemon, and his best-known work, The Futon. However, the naturalist novel was losing popularity, and in the 1920s, Tayama was forced to write travel guides to make ends meet. He finally died in 1930 from throat cancer.