Emperor Reigen aimed for the reconstruction of Imperial families to take place and created his own way to run the government, one step further than his father had tried to do; therefore, he lacked a close relationship with Japan's feudal government, so the court nobles who were on the government's side were completely deprived of their potential for succession.
霊元天皇は父の遺した路線を一歩進めて皇室再興と独自の政策展開を目指したために幕府と距離をとることが多く、この時代、「親幕派」と認められた公卿は徹底的に干された。