His family line was one of the Seiwa-Genji lines, called the lineage of Kawauchi-Genji, and the founder was MINAMOTO no Yukiie, who was the tenth son of MINAMOTO no Tameyoshi, the second-generation successor of MINAMOTO no Yoshiie's.
家系は清和源氏のひとつ、河内源氏の系統といい、源義家の二代後の源為義の十男の源行家を祖とする。