[5] Soon after his birth he was appointed as crown prince, displacing the Emperor's first-born son with the daughter of Fujiwara no Motokata.

This decision was supposedly made under the influence of Morosuke and his brother Fujiwara no Saneyori who had seized power in the court.

The malevolent influence of Motokata's vengeful spirit (怨霊, onryō) was blamed for Norihira-shinnō's mental illness, which resulted in Saneyori acting as regent for the duration of his short reign.

[1] This emperor is traditionally venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine (misasagi) at Kyoto.

It is formally named Sakuramoto no misasagi[10] Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras.