In 1918, Ibuse met naturalist writer Iwano Homei. Homei's literature appealed to Ibuse and would later influence some of Ibuse's literary works. Ibuse also befriended student Aoki Nampachi at Waseda. Aoki was a mentor and a great influence on the writings of Ibuse. Aoki's influence can be found in "The Carp", where Ibuse idealizes Aoki's friendship and represents his feelings towards this friendship as a carp. Ibuse was also influenced by the works of Shakespeare and Bashō, as well as by French fiction and poetry. Ibuse's first literary works were in prose and he started writing his first essays in 1922, shortly after the death of Aoki.