The status was even said as, "if the Imperial Palace (Ashikaga family to inherit the shogunate) dies out, the Kira inherits the succession to the family headship, and the Imagawa inherits the formality when Kira dies out."
その格式は「御所（足利将軍家）が絶えれば吉良が継ぎ、吉良が絶えれば今川が継ぐ」とまで言われた。