 "Asagiri" ("Morning Mist", 1947) was well received by critics.He wrote a number of short novels, among them, "Mikan",("Orange"), "Ikko" ("One"), and "Aki" ("Autumn"), which were collected in 1965 into an anthology titled "Ikko sono ta" ("One and Others"), which was awarded the Noma Prize and the Japan Art Academy Prize for that year.Nagai became a member of the Japan Art Academy in 1968.