The was the first Japanese dictionary to collate words in the now standard gojà «on order. This Muromachi Period dictionary's title uses a Classical Chinese four-character idiom from the Lunyu: "The Master said, "If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others." (tr. Legge).
The preface to the Onkochishinsho is dated 1484 (Bunmei era), and gives the compiler's name as à Âtomo Hirokimi (大伴åºÂå ¬). It notes this little-known lexicographer was a Shajinshi (社ç¥Âå¸ "Earth God Official") in Shiragi (æ°羠"ancient Korean kingdom of Silla"). Kaneko reads this fourth character as an honorific (å ¬ "duke; lord") and identifies him as à Âtomo Taihiro 大伴泰åºÂ.
When à Âtomo chose to collate the Onkochishinsho in the 10 by 5 grid gojà «on "fifty sounds" order (a-i-u-e-o), he went against centuries of Japanese dictionary tradition using the poetic iroha order (i-ro-ha-ni-ho). For example, the circa 1469 CE Setsuyà Âshà « predecessor collates words primarily in iroha order, and secondarily under semantic headings.
The Onkochishinsho enters about 13,000 words, collated first by gojà «on and then by 12 subject classifications (mon ), shown below.
The Onkochishinsho preface credits these 12 categories to the 1341âÂÂ1346 CE Kaizà  ryakuin (æµ·èµçÂ¥é» "Outline of Rimes [prepared at] Kaizà  [Temple]"), compiled by the Rinzai Zen priest and scholar Kokan Shiren. However, since the received Kaizà  ryakuin edition has 14 mon headings, Bailey concludes either it originally had 12, or the preface means Kokan's earlier 1306âÂÂ1307 CE Jubun inryaku (èÂÂÃ¥ÂÂéÂȍÂÂ¥ "Rime Outline, Classified and Explained") that has these same 12 headings. Both of Kokan's Sino-Japanese dictionaries were primarily collated by 106 Chinese rime table categories, and secondarily by subject headings. While continuing the Muromachi dictionary tradition of semantic categories for secondary ordering, like the Jubun inryaku and Setsuyà Âshà «; the Onkochishinsho principally collated word entries with well-known Japanese gojà «on instead of iroha ordering or arcane Chinese rimes.
Although many Japanese dictionaries published after the Onkochishinsho continued to use bookish iroha instead of user-friendly gojà «on order, it eventually became the dominant lexicographic arrangement.