 In 1913, Hagiwara published five of his verses in "Zamboa" ("Shaddock"), a magazine edited by Kitahara Hakushū, who became his mentor and friend.He also contributed verse to Maeda Yugure's "Shiika" ("Poetry") and "Chijō Junrei" ("Earth Pilgrimage"), another journal created by Hakushū.The following year, he joined Murō Saisei and the Christian minister Yamamura Bochō in creating the "Ningyo Shisha" ("Merman Poetry Group"), dedicated to the study of music, poetry, and religion.