1492: Chikanaga agreed to assume Gon Dainagon (a provisional chief councilor of state) on the strong recommendation of the people around him including his heir Motonaga KANROJI, but in the following year, when Emperor Gotsuchimikado determined to abdicate from the throne because the emperor resented Meio Coup, Chikanaga remonstrated with the emperor, and right after that, Chikanaga himself resigned from all his posts and became a priest.
明応元年（1492年）嫡子甘露寺元長ら周囲の強い薦めにより権大納言への就任を受けたが、翌年、明応の政変に憤慨した後土御門天皇が退位を決意するとこれを諌め、その直後にすべての官を辞して出家。