She tends to be regarded as a villain who tortured Genji the most among his political opponents, but she is also a typical character to depict the empress's residence and Sekkan-ke, the families which produced the Regent and the Chief Adviser to the Emperor, at the time of the story.
主人公源氏の政敵の中でも、とりわけ源氏を苦しめる悪役と見られがちだが、物語当時の後宮や摂関家のありかたを示す典型的人物でもある。