His mother was not known; there is a view that his mother was the Imperial Princess Itonai (Narihira's mother), who was a daughter of the Emperor Kanmu, but, judging from his year of birth, it cannot be the historical fact.
母は不明、桓武天皇皇女伊都内親王（業平の母）説もあるが、生年から考えるに史実ではない。