It is said that one of the reasons why Isami KONDO adopted Shuhei as his son was that Isami believed in a rumor that Shuhei was 'an illegitimate son of the lord of Bicchu Matsuyama clan, Itakura Suo no kami.'
近藤が養子縁組した理由の一つに、「周平は備中松山藩主板倉周防守の落胤である」との噂を近藤が信じたためと伝えられる。