He was an expert of Yusoku kojitsu (court and samurai rules of ceremony and etiquette), so many top court officials asked him for advice and they often recommended him for a higher rank, but he firmly refused it and said, 'it is futile to be an officer of a higher rank.'
有職故実に通じていたことから、多くの公卿から指導を依頼され、たびたび官に推挙されたが、「高官無益なり」とかたくなに断ったという。