Zenji ISOKAWA also asserts that the book also received backlash because although it took the style of a historical document, it was also a criticism of Aritomo YAMAGATA and Hirobumi ITO, outstanding statesmen who made great contributions during the Meiji era.
また、礫川全次はこの本は歴史書の体裁をとった明治の元勲山県有朋や伊藤博文への批判書だとしており、両者の圧力があった可能性を指摘している。