It was originally written as 相府蓮 in Chinese characters, which meant 'lotus in Joshofu' (lotus in the official residence of a minister), but since the characters '相府' and '想夫,' which literally means longing for a man or husband, shared the same pronunciation, it later came to be a singing piece about a woman longing for a man.
本来の表記は「丞相府（じょうしょうふ/大臣の官邸のこと）の蓮」をあらわす相府蓮であったが、「相府」と「想夫」の音が通じることから後に、男性を慕う女性の恋情を歌う曲とされた。