It is said that Hidetsugu repeated villainies such as preference murder (he killed a blind man on the street), thus he famously was given the name 'Sessho Kanpaku,' a homonym of Sessho Kanpaku (Regent and Chief Adviser to the Emperor), but the actual circumstances are unknown and a lot of points are doubtful.
事件直前の秀次は嗜好殺人などの非道行為（盲人を辻斬りにした）を繰り返したとも言われ、「殺生関白」（「摂政関白」の韻に掛けた創作）の異名をとったという話は有名であるが、実情は不明であり疑わしい点も多い。