He was worshipped by the literary youth of the time and was called a "god of novels" after his representative work, "The Shopboy's God"; however, he was offended by Osamu DAZAI's criticism of him in DAZAI's full-length novel "Tsugaru," and attacked him viciously at a round-table discussion.
当時の文学青年から崇拝され、代表作「小僧の神様」にかけて「比喩としての「神様」「神」一覧」に擬せられていたが、太宰治から長篇小説『津軽』の中で批判を受けて立腹し、座談会の席上で太宰を激しく攻撃した。