Some opinions state that his assassination in the Sakuradamongai Incident caused a weakening of bakufu authority, which had been maintained through Naosuke's heavy-handed politics.
桜田門外の変による暗殺が、直弼の強権的な手腕で回復しかけていた幕府権威を衰退させるきっかけとなったという見方がある。