He promoted deregulation and transformed Nagoya into one of Japan's major cities, but he fell from power due to his conflict with the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune.
During his lifetime, he rose to the junior third rank in the Imperial court, and held the titular office of Gon-Chūnagon (acting middle councilor).
Given to personal luxury, in 1731, Muneharu published a book, Onchiseiyō (温知政要), which criticized ruling shōgun Tokugawa Yoshimune for his policy of excessive frugality.
When a later shōgun installed his own son as lord of Owari, 75 years after the death of Muneharu, he had the net removed as a gesture of pardon.
In the book Blood Ninja, he is the father of the main character Taro and enemy to Oda Nobunaga.