In FUJIWARA no Kiyosuke's "Fukurozoshi" (Notes in a Folder, the Collection of Poetic Lore on poetics), Kensho's "Kokinshu Chu" (Commentary of the Kokinshu) and in the postscript to vulgate copies of the manuscript transcribed by FUJIWARA no Sadaie, Narihira is suggested as the author of "The Tales of Ise."
藤原清輔の歌学書『袋草子』や『古今集注』の著者顕昭さらに藤原定家の流布本奥書に業平であろうと記述がある。