As he was appointed as one of the temporary priests though he was a soldier, it is assumed that Hogen had considerable knowledge and background of Shinto and the name 'Hogen' would be also a Shinto name classified under 'Shingo' or 'Gago.'
軍人でありながら留守神主の一人に任命されている事から法元自身がかなりの神道知識と素養を持っていたと考えられ、この「法元」という名前自体もそれに基づく「神号」か「雅号」だと推測される。