Even in the Northern House, the most senior court rank of Gon Dainagon (a provisional councilor of state) was held by the collateral family line FUJIWARA no Nagaie school, and his father died early, which greatly delayed his promotion, but for those times he lived an extraordinary long life and advanced as far as Kotaigo gu no daibu (Master of the Empress Dowager's Household) with a court rank of Shosanmi (Senior Third Rank).
北家でも、権大納言を極官とした傍系の藤原長家流で、父と早く死別した事もあって出世は大きく遅れたが、当時としては異例の長寿を保ち、皇太后宮大夫正三位にまで進んだ。