The Tales of Ise
"The Tales of Ise" portrays Narihira as falling in love with , a consort of Emperor Seiwa, and it is hinted that this was one of the reasons for his leaving the capital and travelling east. It has been speculated that this romantic affair with the consort of the emperor was the reason why the "Sandai Jitsuroku" describes his rank as going down from Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade to Senior Sixth Rank, Upper Grade, before again rising to Junior Fifth Rank, Upper Grade the following year. However, it has also been speculated that this may be an error in the "Sandai Jitsuroku" as a result of binding changing the order of events. Furthermore, Fujiwara no Takaiko reputedly had an affair with the monk , which may have formed the core of the otherwise fictional legend that she also had an affair with Narihira. Whether the affair was historical or not, the Reizei family's commentary on "The Tales of Ise" speculates that Emperor Yōzei was a product of this union, and not the previous emperor.