The autobiography of Kikugoro mentioned that a man involved in play whose name was Naosuke visited Kikugoro to show nishiki-e (a color woodblock print) drawn by Kunisada UTAGAWA which showed that Kikugoro himself was disguised as Bentenkozo stick a bare sword into a floor and drank sake, and Kikugoro immediately asked Shinshichi KAWATAKE to adapt it.
菊五郎の自伝によれば、芝居の関係者の直助と言う男が、歌川国貞画の錦絵を見せに来たら、自分自身が弁天小僧の扮装で抜き身の刀を床に突き刺して酒を飲む絵柄だったので、早速河竹新七に脚色を依頼したとある。