Although they were indeed brewing specialists, it is hard to say that they were the direct origin of latter-day toji, in terms of whether there were group-specific techniques or not, and/or in terms of their organization system.
しかし同じ醸造技術者ではあっても、流派ごとの技法の有無や、集団としての制度などを考えると、後世の杜氏の直接的起源とは言いがたい。