He is described as the wise ruler among the successive shoguns, as he came up with various measures to reform the bakufu, including discontinuing the unpopular law prohibiting cruelty to animals, and there are many voices that say it was such a loss that he died only three years after taking office.
人気のなかった「生類憐みの令」を廃止するなどして、幕政改革に熱心だったことから、歴代将軍の中でも名君と評されていて、在位3年で死去したのを惜しむ声が多い。