There was a well-known phrase describing the period, saying that "Zangiri atama wo tataite mireba, Bunmei Kaika no otogasuru," ("Knocking on the short-cut hair by removing a topknot, we can hear the sound of civilization") which became the origin of the movement to produce a new style in Kabuki theatrical play called "Zangiri-mono."
この時代を象徴する言葉として有名なものに「散切り頭を叩いてみれば、文明開化の音がする」という言葉があり、散切物と呼ばれる歌舞伎芸能の新形態発生などといった現象がみられる。