Shoshii was the peak rank, i.e. the highest rank, for a family which was not permitted to ascend to kugyo, and many leading warriors of the Seiwa-Genji (Minamoto clan) and Kawachi-Genji (Minamoto clan) were prominent.
正四位は公卿に昇ることを許されない家柄の極位、即ち最高位であり、著名なところでは清和源氏や河内源氏の棟梁に多く見られた。