Shiga Naoya (志賀 直哉, February 20,1883 - October 21,1971) was a Japanese writer. His terse style influenced many later writers. He garnered praise from the likes of Akutagawa Ryunosuke, but was despised by Dazai Osamu for his "sincere" style. He wrote only one novel A Dark Night's Passing . He is mostly remembered for his short stories. Later in life he was given the title shôsetsu no kamisama - "the god of Fiction" by those who admired him.