It is said that when he visited his aunt FUJIWARA no Matako with his brother Koremichi when he was young, she said, 'this elder brother will become a minister in future, but this little brother will end as a common person', according to "Kojidan" (Talks of the Past).
幼少の頃、兄の伊通とともに伯母の藤原全子の元を訪れた際、全子によって「兄の方は将来大臣になるが、弟は凡愚で終わるだろう」と評されたという（『古事談』）。