In popular lore, the cause of his death was a cerebral stroke, but 彦由一太 seemed to think the Emperor was assassinated by FUJIWARA no Yoshifusa, considering that the Emperor's illness had so suddenly worsened.
通説では死因は脳卒中とされているが、彦由一太は余りの病状の急変から藤原良房による暗殺説を唱えている。