The whole work of 'The Chrysanthemum Vow' was adapted from Hakuwa Shosetsu 'Fan Juqing jishu sisheng jiao (Fan Chu-ch'ing's Eternal Friendship)' in "Gujin xiaoshuo (Old and New Stories)," and the background is based on "Intoku Taiheiki (records of great peace)" by Masanori KAGAWA.
「菊花の約」は、全体を白話小説の『古今小説』「范巨卿鷄黍死生交」から、時代背景を香川正矩『陰徳太平記』によっている。