The success of Soun's arbitration due to his exceptional resourcefulness has been said to be the first step of his social climb; however, prevailing theory holds that he was ordered by Sadachika and Morisada to go to Suruga to intervene in the Imagawa clan's inheritance dispute.
従来、この調停成功は早雲の抜群の知略による立身出世の第一歩とされるが、これは貞親・盛定の命により駿河守護家・今川氏の家督相続介入の為に下向したものであるとの説が有力となっている。