The function of a cha-bōzu was to oversee the provision of personal service and serving of meals, and to run errands, for high-ranking officials like the shōgun and daimyō at the castle.
They portray him as a villain with free rein to commit crimes as he pleases, or a champion of the oppressed masses against the evil people in power.
In 1874, Kawatake Mokuami added further embellishments to Hakuen's story, and the resulting kabuki play, Kumono-ueno San'e no Sakumae, had its premiere performance.
Mokuami further developed the story, and in 1881, Kumo ni magou Ueno no Hatsuhana opened at the Shintomi-za in Tokyo with Ichikawa Danjūrō IX portraying Sōshun.
[2] Four years later, the story appeared again in Kiyoshi Saeki's 1955 Toei film Tenpō Rokudōsen Hirado no Kaizoku, starring Ryūnosuke Tsukigata.