Since the society had already changed drastically toward the Restoration at that time, being Genkun became really rare and valuable, and thus the word Genkun became popular in the newspapers and books as a word indicating that they were historically and socially important like God.
既に維新の方向で社会が大きく変化していたため、元勲であること自体が希少価値と共に燻銀（いぶしぎん）的価値を持つこととなり、元勲という言葉が彼らの神がかり的な歴史と社会的重要性を示す言葉として新聞・書籍などで有名になった。