While the Cloistered Emperor Shirakawa was utilizing Yoshiie's military power to guard himself, he did not allow the promotion of Yoshiie from zuryo (provincial governor) of Mutsu Province, and moreover he tried to suppress the power of Yoshiie by issuing the senji (imperial decree) prohibiting peasants in various districts from donating the fields to Yoshiie in 1091.
白河法皇は義家の武力を身辺警固に大いに活用する一方で、前陸奥国受領のまま昇進はさせず、あまつさえ寛治5年（1091年）には諸国の百姓に義家への田畑の寄進の禁止を命じる宣旨を出し、その力を抑え込もうとした。