Though there is a theory that doubts whether the sweet potatoes made by Konyo for trial purposes led directly to the spread in Kanto, as pointed out by Nobuhiro SATO (refer to the "Konyo and Nobuhiro SATO" mentioned later), it is a fact that Konyo had gotten fame because of the sweet potatoes in the same period, and was called 'Sweet Potato Teacher' by future generations.
昆陽の薩摩芋試作が関東における普及に直接繋がったかは、佐藤信淵の指摘（後述「昆陽と佐藤信淵」を参照）に見られるように疑問視する説もあるが、昆陽が同時代に薩摩芋によって名声を得ていたことは事実であり、後世"甘藷先生"と称され、墓所の瀧泉寺（目黒不動）には「甘藷先生之墓」がある。