 In 1932, Horiguchi moved to the Ishikawa neighborhood of Tokyo.In 1935, he became vice-chairman of the Japan PEN Club (the chairman at the time was Tōson Shimazaki), and in May of the same year entertained Jean Cocteau during his visit to Japan, by taking him to see kabuki.However, spoke out against the increasing militarization of Japan, and after promulgation of the National Mobilization Law, went into self-imposed confinement at a hotel on the shores of Lake Nojiri, continuing with his translations of French literature under the ever more vigilant eyes of the censors.