For that reason, Motohiko IZAWA mentions in the second volume of the "Gyakusetsu no Nihonshi" (Japanese History from a Paradoxical View) that he was 'promoted' from 'Saru' (an ape) to Hitomaro (Hito means a man.)
このため、井沢元彦は『逆説の日本史』(2)で、「サル」から人麻呂に「昇格」したと述べている。