The reign of Emperor Nintoku is known for benevolent rule, the Chinese-style posthumous name, 'Nintoku,' originating from this, as can be seen from an anecdote written in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki that he exempted people from taxes after he noticed that no smoke of cooking was coming out of the house furnaces and, in order to save money, he didn't have the palace roof renewed during the tax exemption period.
人家の竈（かまど）から炊煙が立ち上っていないことに気づいて租税を免除し、その間は倹約のために宮殿の屋根の茅さえ葺き替えなかった、と言う記紀の逸話に見られるように、仁徳天皇の治世は仁政として知られ、「仁徳」の漢風諡号もこれに由来する。