It is said that a defining characteristic is the admiration seen in the descriptions of Michinaga, but it also clearly shows his suffering due to illness in his later years and even the pains of living in defeat under the Regency government.
道長についての記述に賞賛が多く見られることが特徴として挙げられるが、彼の晩年を襲った病苦や、摂関政治の裏面を生きる敗者の悲哀をも詳らかに描き出している。