Hori pointed out that Nobunaga had resigned as Minister of the Right and Major Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards because he would not take any official post until his unification of the whole country, and Hori also said Nobunaga probably did not want any official post, and instead he had the aim of becoming an emperor outside the Ritsuryo system (a system of centralized government based on the ritsuryo code).
堀説では、信長は天下統一まで任官できないとして右大臣兼右近衛大将を辞官しており統一前に任官する理由が立たないことを指摘し、信長には任官の意思はなく、律令体制に留まらず中華皇帝を指向していたと推察できるともしている。