He went against the promise he made with his older brother, Yorimichi, and schemed to pass the Kanpaku position to his son, FUJIWARA no Nobunaga, that the bad relation between the siblings became serious, and he actually permitted to carry out the Enkyu no shoen seiri rei (Legistration on private estates in the era of Enkyu) policy of Emperor Gosanjo in order to dismantle the financial platform of Yorimichi.
兄・頼通との約束に反して息子・藤原信長への関白譲位を図った事から兄弟の不仲が深刻となり、頼通の財政的な基盤を切り崩すために後三条天皇が行った延久の荘園整理令の施行を事実上容認したとも言われている。