Hikokuro encountered the incident Songo Ikken and was treated well by the court noble Naruchika NAKAYAMA; however, this caused the roju (member of shogun's council of elders), Sadanobu MATSUDAIRA, and the bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun), to grow wary of Hikokuro.
尊号一件と呼ばれる事件に遭遇し、公家中山愛親の知遇を得た事が老中の松平定信など幕府の警戒を呼ぶ。