In addition to contemporary novels such as those of Dennis Cooper (see the short story Ribs of the Sky: Cooper’s Bad Boys on display nearby), Takaya is strongly inspired by earlier works of literature from Japan and Western Europe. Some of these literary references, such as the fiction of Marcel Schwob (1867–1905) and the poetry of Tsukamoto Kunio (1922–2005), are entirely original works. The most famous of Takaya’s influences, however, draw their ideas from even earlier sources: the Japanese novelist Shinoda Mayumi (b. 1953) harkens back to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), the Symbolist poet Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) echoes the Greek verse of Sapphō (c.620 BC – c.570 BC), the Surrealist author Antonin Artaud (1896–1948) references ancient Roman literature, and the British playwright Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) elaborates upon stories in the New Testament.