Contents varied and ranged widely: revenge, loyalty and martial stories, dramatic narrations, Kabuki and Noh stories, depictions written in phonetic Japanese kana syllabary, fairy tales, poignant stories etc.
敵討ちなどの忠義や武勇伝、浄瑠璃・歌舞伎、謡曲、仮名双紙、軍記物、お伽双紙、浮世双紙など多様な内容になってきた。