Hayashi was arrested in early 1926 as part of a roundup of Communists and suspected Communist sympathizers in universities under the provisions of the Peace Preservation Law and was incarcerated for ten months. His literary career began when he was released, with the publication of a short story, "Ringo" ("Apple") in "Bungei Sensen" ("Literary Battlefront"). This also marked his beginnings as a leading member of the Proletarian literature Movement. With other like-minded writers, he founded the Proletarian Artist Federation in 1927. However, Hayashi was arrested again for his fund-raising activities for the Japanese Communist Party, and was incarcerated in Toyotami Prison, outside of Tokyo in 1930.