When he sent the rewards granted (such as clothes) from the Emperor to his mother who was living in his hometown, she sent them back to him with waka (a traditional Japanese poem of thirty-one syllables) to remonstrate with him.
そして、下賜された褒美の品（布帛〈織物〉など）を故郷で暮らす母に送ったところ、母は源信を諌める和歌を添えてその品物を送り返した。