Gonin-ish members refer to the work of "Hyakunin-ish" to name the band. "Hyakunin-ish" consists of short poems written by one-hundred people ("Hyakunin"). The word "ish" means one poem ("Waka"). These "Waka" date back as early as the seventh century and were assembled together in the thirteenth century. Today, it is a well known Japanese card game. They were inspired by this, and thus named the group "gonin-ish." "Gonin" means five people, so therefore, the meaning of the band name in Japanese is that of "songs being united by five people."

Gonin-ish's lyrical themes consist of ancient words from Japanese classic literature that aren't widely used in the modern world and are difficult to decipher, even for the Japanese public. Their singer Anoji takes great inspiration for her lyrics from modern Manga and Anime which include ancient traditions.