The title of the book was "Honchohennenroku" at first, but it was changed to "Honchotsugan" modeled on "shijitsugan," a history book of Sung dynasty in China.
書名は当初『本朝編年録』であったが、中国宋代の史書『資治通鑑』に倣い、『本朝通鑑』に変更されたという。