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.
Kawai regards the author's intent in Torikaebaya as pursuing an aesthetic, rather than writing "a sentimental story spiced with erotic scenes".