The term also appeared in the phrase "Those who establish themselves by gekokujo (overthrowing their lords)" in the book "Scrawlings from the Nijo gawara," coming to be used as a symbol of the social tendencies of the Sengoku Period (Period of Warring States) in Japan.
「下剋上する成出者」と二条河原の落書に唄われ戦国時代(日本)の社会的風潮を象徴する言葉ともされる。