As the philosophy advocating the reverence for the emperor was adopted by an increasing number of people, attempts were made to search for lost imperial mausoleums, with scholars such as Kenrin MATSUSHITA, Norinaga MOTOORI, Kunpei GAMO, Sadamasa KITAURA, Yoshiomi TANIMORI, and Hyosai HIRATSUKA studying historical evidence and visiting past mausoleum sites; mausoleum repairs performed by the Tokugawa government are not unrelated to these attempts.
江戸時代には、尊皇思想の勃興とともに、天皇陵探索の気運が高まり、松下見林、本居宣長、蒲生君平、北浦定政、谷森善臣、平塚瓢斎などが、陵墓の所在地を考証したり、現地に赴いたりしており、江戸幕府による修陵もこうした動きと無関係ではない。