Among the military nobles, Seiwa Genji (the Minamoto clan) and Kanmu Heishi (the Taira clan), who were endowed with the high Shii (Fourth Rank), stood out as the chieftains of the warrior class, namely Buke no toryo (the leader of samurai families), that newly emerged in this period.
軍事貴族の中でも、高位の四位に任じられた清和源氏と桓武平氏は、この時代新たに登場した武士層の棟梁、すなわち武家の棟梁と呼びうる存在であった。