According to an anecdote told about Kinzane, when his nephew acceded to the throne as Emperor Toba in 1107, Kinzane insisted that, as the father of the young Emperor's wife, he himself should become the emperor's regent rather than the head of the Fujiwara regent's line, FUJIWARA no Tadazane (who he despised for his youth), but MINAMOTO no Toshiakira, the superintendant of the court of the retired Emperor Shirakawa, refused his demand, saying, 'How foolish you are to desire to become regent now, having held the rank of shodaibu through four generations of emperors.'
公実の逸話として、嘉承2年（1107年）に甥が鳥羽天皇として即位した時、彼は摂関家の当主藤原忠実の若年なるを侮って、幼帝の外舅の地位にある自らこそ摂政に就任すべしと主張し、「四代もの間、諸大夫として仕えた者が今摂関を望むとは」と白河院別当の源俊明に一蹴されたという話がある。