When his father died young in 1096 at the age of fifty-two, his rank was as low as goi kurodo (chamberlain with the fifth rank) and partly due to bad luck on his part, the Emperor Horikawa, to whom he served as a close aide and who was his friend through flute, died young, he was only able to join the Sangi (Royal Advisor) at the age of forty-six.
1096年に父が52歳の若さで死去した際には、まだ五位蔵人という低い官職であり、側近として仕えまた笛を通じた友人でもあった堀河天皇が早世するなどの不幸もあり、46歳でやっと参議に列するような有様であった。