Under these circumstances, Shogun Tsunayoshi was leaning toward saving their lives; however, it could mean that he admitted his decisions made in the past were wrong, and therefore he arranged to meet Cloistered Imperial Prince Koben who resided at Ueno Kanei-ji Temple as a chief priest of Rinno-ji Temple and indirectly asked him to grant a pardon in order to make it look like it was a member of the Imperial Family who granted a pardon.
こうしたなかで将軍綱吉は徐々に助命に傾くが、かつての自分の裁断が過ちだったことを認めてしまうことにもなりかねないので、皇族から出された恩赦という形を得るため、輪王寺門主として上野寛永寺に居住する公弁法親王に拝謁し、それとなく法親王から恩赦を出すよう依頼するに至った。