Modeled on "Giko Gafu" by Chinese poet Li Tung-yang (1447 - 1516), "Nihon Gafu" covers in a ballad style historical events and incidents that occurred from ancient times up to the Shokuho era (Oda-Toyotomi era, as known as Azuchi Momoyama period).
中国の李東陽（1447-1516）の「擬古楽府」に倣って古代から織豊時代までの歴史事件を歌謡風に詠じたものである。