Tradition has it that she liked sardines, which was unusual for aristocracy, but this episode is based on a story of Izumi Shikibu in 'Sarugenji no soshi (The Sarugenji Book),' so it seems to have been made up by someone at a later date.
貴族ではめずらしいイワシ好きであったという説話があるが、もとは「猿源氏草紙」で和泉式部の話であり、後世の作話と思われる。