He used his age as an excuse to evade unpalatable questions and he let out his true feelings by saying, "I didn't really like Hisamitsu SHIMAZU" and "Naomasa NABESHIMA was a cunning fellow"; from these comments, one can see his personality and what he was feeling at that time.
こと歳のせいにして都合の悪い質問をはぐらかしたり、「島津久光はあまり好きじゃなかった」「鍋島直正はずるい人だった」と本音を漏らすあたり、彼の性格と当時の心境が窺える。