Earlier theories asserted that political affairs were in fact conducted at Incho, but Shigeo SUZUKI asserted that no details regarding national government could be seen in the documents issued by Incho at that time, and Yoshihiko HASHIMOTO, based on this fact, strongly criticized the view that political affairs were conducted at Incho; consequently, in recent years it has become the prevalent view that the In put pressure on the Imperial Court by using inzen, which had the aspect of a non-official document, and that by placing his aides in positions of general council of state he took virtual control of the government.
従来の学説では院庁において実際の政務が執られたとされていたが、鈴木茂男が当時の院庁発給文書に国政に関する内容が認められないことを主張し、橋本義彦がこれを受けて院庁政治論を痛烈に批判したため近年では、非公式の私文書としての側面のある院宣を用いて朝廷に圧力をかけ、院独自の側近を院の近臣として太政官内に送り込むことによって事実上の指揮を執ったとする見解が有力となっている。