In the Kamakura period, the Tokuso family had their own miuchibito (vassals who served as low-level bureaucrats), Kumonjo (office of administration), and territory, and were the most senior family in the Hojo clan, which held the position of shugoshiki (provincial constable) in various provinces and the majority of the most important posts in the bakufu, such as that of head of the Rokuhara Tandai (an administrative and judicial agency in Rokuhara, Kyoto).
鎌倉時代には、得宗家は専属の被官である御内人、家政機関（公文所）と所領を持ち、諸国の守護職や、六波羅探題をはじめ幕府の要職の過半を占める北条一門の最上位に位置づけられた。