Handing down skills and learning by 'Seshu' (hereditary) within the clan was a phenomenon seen among Japanese clans before the Yamato period, but under the Ritsuryo system (a system of centralized government based on the ritsuryo code) these customs were abolished and the education system at public institutions such as Daigakuryo (Bureau of Education), Tenyakuryo (the Bureau of Medicine), and Onmyoryo (Bureau of Divination) was adopted.
氏族単位での技能・学術の「世習」による継承は大和時代以前の日本の氏族において見られる現象であるが、律令制のもとではこうした方法を排除して公的機関である大学寮・典薬寮・陰陽寮において教育を行う制度を採用した。