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In 1923, Sakae Ōsugi met a tragic end in the Amakasu Incident. At that time, Takiji Kobayashi was 20, and Jūji Nakano was 21—both yet to fully immerse themselves in literature and politics. Thus, it is difficult to say they were directly influenced by Ōsugi.

Ōsugi's ideology was anarchism—rejecting the state itself and prioritizing individual freedom above all. In contrast, both Kobayashi and Nakano chose the path of communism, advocating for an organized revolution. By the late 1920s, Japan’s leftist movement had shifted toward communism, and anarchism, which followed in Ōsugi’s footsteps, gradually faded into the background.

That said, Ōsugi’s way of life was not entirely irrelevant. His staunch anti-authoritarian stance and defiance against oppression became shared values within Japan’s leftist circles. Kobayashi, too, met a tragic end in 1933, dying under torture by the Special Higher Police, echoing Ōsugi’s fate. Nakano, on the other hand, continued his activities postwar but eventually parted ways with the Communist Party due to internal conflicts. Though he survived within the organization, his path diverged from Ōsugi’s.

In the end, Sakae Ōsugi’s influence was not direct but rather intersected with the shifting currents of the era, only to eventually branch off into separate streams.