He became interested in earnestly pursuing playwriting after a dinner with author Yuzo Yamamoto in early 1923. The earthquake that wreaked havoc in Tokyo in 1923 caused Kishida to put his playwriting on hold and pursue other means of making a living. By 1924, Kishida had become a large force in the rebirth of the New Theatre movement in the wake of the earthquake, helping to establish the magazine "Engeki Shincho" (New Currents of Drama) along with the founder of the Tsukiji Little Theater Kaoru Osanai. It was in this magazine that Kishida’s earliest play Furui Omocha (Old Toys) was first published. While they started out as colleagues, the disparity in ideals between Kishida and Osanai caused a rift in their relationship. Kishida wrote a scathing review for a literary magazine of the first three productions at the Tsukiji Little Theater, criticizing the actors, choice of plays, and the character of Osanai himself. In turn, Osanai cut off all relations with Kishida and refused, despite popular demand, to produce any of his plays.