The name Shikanosuke was meant to be written with the two characters "鹿介," but was written by the three characters "鹿之助" in historical tales and the like, which resulted in his becoming known by the written name "山中鹿之介," using the wrong characters.
講談の類で鹿之助とされたため一般には山中鹿之介（しかのすけ）なる誤った表記で知られる。