She is said to be an unsuitable character in the otherwise graceful love story, but some say that she may be modeled after the old woman in the tale of 'Tsukumo' in "Ise Monogatari" (The Tales of Ise), toward whom a young nobleman was often sympathetic.
優雅な恋愛物語には不似合いな人物と言われるが、『伊勢物語』の「九十九髪」での貴公子が老女に情をかける件を下敷きにしたのではないかという説もある。