In its widest sense, the term kusazōshi includes the genres of akahon (赤本), aohon (青本), kurohon (黒本), kibyōshi (黄表紙) and gōkan (合巻); in the narrow sense it may refer uniquely to gōkan.
It is thought that these early works were enjoyed by a wide readership, and were especially appreciated by women and children.
Koikawa Harumachi (恋川春町)'s kibyōshi entitled Kinkin Sensei Eiga no Yume (『金々先生栄花夢』) marked a new era in the development of kusazōshi.
At first sight, Kinkin Sensei Eiga no Yume appears to be a simple retelling of the Chinese tale of Lu Sheng (廬生, in Japanese: Rosei), a young man who falls asleep in the Zhao capital of Handan, and dreams of glory but wakes to find that the millet at his bedside has not even begun to boil.
[a] This is a development which changed the course of the kusazōshi genre profoundly, and henceforth it is thought that the works were increasingly read by educated male adults.