The play Otokodate itsutsu karigane (Karigane's five brave and noble men) was written for the puppet theater by Takeda Izumo II and premiered in 9/1742 at the Takemoto Theater. It was one of the most popular Karigane gonin otoko mono (Karigane's five-men plays) about so-called otokodate (chivalrous commoners, literally standing men). The real-life Karigane gonin were members of a loosely knit gang of 11 or more outlaws led by Karigane Bunshichi. Guilty of beating, theft, and murder spanning several years, they were executed in 1702. Takeda's drama helped to mythologize these criminals and transform them from gangsters into heroes.

Arashi Kitsusaburô was an earlier name used by Arashi Rikan II until 1828.

Hotei Ichiemon holds a portable paper lantern (chôchin) with the character Ho and a cloth sack, emblematic of the otokodate's namesake, Hotei, one of the Seven Lucky Gods (Shichifukujin). The treasure-sack motif is repeated as crests on each shoulder of the blue robe. The end of a shakuhachi (wooden flute) is visible at Hotei's back, an accessory often associated with the Karigane gonin.