Abe was first published as a poet in 1947 with "Mumei-shishū" (""Poems of an unknown poet""), which he paid for himself, and as a novelist the following year with "Owarishi michi no shirube ni" (""The Road Sign at the End of the Street""), which established his reputation. When he received the Akutagawa Prize in 1951, his ability to continue publishing was confirmed. Though he did much work as an avant-garde novelist and playwright, it was not until the publication of "The Woman in the Dunes" in 1962 that Abe won widespread international acclaim.