He had entered the priesthood, taking the name 'Gien,' but upon returning to secular life to succeed to the headship of his family, he named himself 'Yoshinobu,' althouth as this name sounded similar to 'mourning the past,' he called himself 'Yoshinori,' rejecting the name 'Yoshitoshi' that the Imperial Court granted him.
当初出家しており「義円」と呼ばれていたが、家督を継ぐにあたり還俗し「義宣（よしのぶ）」と称したものの、「世を偲ぶ」につながることから改名を決意し朝廷から贈られた「義敏」という名を蹴って「義教」と名乗った。