His major works include "The Moon Over the Mountain" and "Light, Wind and Dreams" with the former being published in many Japanese textbooks.

The thesis, titled "The Study of Aestheticism" traces the influences of modern Japanese literature to Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde and Charles Baudelaire.

The thesis then also proceeds to analyze the works of Tanizaki Jun'ichirō, Mori Ōgai, Ueda Bin and Nagai Kafū.

During this period he began showing his signature style of setting his stories in exotic locations such as China or Korea along with recurring themes of self-doubt, questions on the meaning of life, isolation, fate and the nature of human existence.

[4] One of Nakajima's most well-known literary works is "The Moon Over the Mountain" (山月記, Sangetsuki) sometimes also known as "Tiger Poet" (人虎伝, Jinko-den).

[8] "The Moon Over the Mountain" tells the story of Yuan Can who recently had heard about a man-eating tiger roaming around his area.

While traveling for official business one day, Li Zheng claims that he went insane and transformed into a tiger.

Li Zheng claims that this was because of the "cowardly pride" and "arrogant shame" he harbored within him which caused him to transform into the tiger.

During his time in the School, Nakajima was exposed to more of western literature, such as the works of Blaise Pascal, Anatole France and Robert Louis Stevenson.

During this time he translated works by D. H. Lawrence, Aldous Huxley and Franz Kafka into Japanese, while continuing to write fiction.

While bedridden for two months, he published "Light, Wind and Dreams," a fictionalized biography of Robert Louis Stevenson.

[4] A character based on Atsushi Nakajima is featured in the manga series Bungo Stray Dogs, where major literary figures from Japan and across the world are presented as teenagers and young adults.

In the series, Nakajima works for the Armed Detective Agency and has a supernatural ability named after his short story "The Moon Over the Mountain" which allows him to transform into a tiger.