 The characterisation of the tale has been criticised by Shūichi Katō, who describes the characters' reactions as "hackneyed", and their characters as "not clearly defined".Katō describes the story as "unreal", and decries the "scenes of perverted sexuality" throughout the story.Hayao Kawai says that he is not aware of an equivalent tale to "Torikaebaya" in Japan or in other languages, but he can draw a parallel between the Chūnagon and a tale from Ovid's "Metamorphoses" of Iphis and Ianthe.