The nurturing of Shiga's feelings for nature -- The moon: early encounters with nature -- The sun: in pursuit of a religiosity of art -- Nature destroyed: the Ashio copper mine pollution incident -- Plants: the essence of nature -- Living creatures: mirrors of human nature -- The supernatural and nature -- Dreams: nature internalized -- Lafcadio Hearn's influence on Shiga's literary style -- Conclusion: nature-inspired art and artistic nature -- Appendix 1: chronology of Shiga Naoya's life and art -- Appendix 2: map with important places in Shiga's literature.