Although his masks are widely assumed to conceal a deformed or hideous appearance, in fact they conceal a face of such dazzling beauty that it can drive people insane. The masks also muffle the true sound of his voice, which is as silky and beautiful as his hair. When he took the imperial examinations as a young man, his otherworldly beauty caused the exam for that year to go down in legend as "The Nightmare Exam" by mesmerizing everyone else in the hall so much that thirty officials had to be sacked and only two other candidates, Reishin and Yuushun, passed the exams at all; he won third place, receiving the title of Tanka.