Allied with the victorious imperial side during the Hogen war, when the Heiji war broke out he stood on the sidelines and observed, and didn't join with MINAMOTO no Yoshitomo, who was of the Kawachi Genji (descended from MINAMOTO no Yorinobu, the younger brother of Yorimitsu), supporting Kiyomori instead.
保元の乱では勝者の天皇方につき、平治の乱では形勢を観望して河内源氏（頼光の弟の源頼信の系統）の源義朝に与せず、清盛に味方した。