It used to be understood that the purpose of the policy was to repossess, without compensation, the lands sold due to drying up and the lands lent to musoku gokenin (vassal without territory) who got impoverished due to the military campaign at the time of Mongol invasion attempts against Japan and the burden of guarding against the invasion by foreign countries, but it is now understood that the main purpose was rather to prohibit pawnage and trading of shoryo by Gokenin, which means the depression of right to dispose of shoryo as specified in 2-a among the three Articles, and 2-b was a secondary measure to have the lost shoryo returned to Gokenin as the premise of implementing 2-a, all of which seem to put weight on maintaining the Gokenin system which was the foundation of bakufu.
元寇での戦役や異国警護の負担から没落した無足御家人の借入地や沽却地を無償で取り戻すことが目的と理解されてきたが、現在ではむしろ御家人所領の質入れ、売買の禁止、つまり3ヶ条の（2-a）所領処分権の抑圧が主であり、（2-b）はその前提として失った所領を回復させておくといった二次的な措置であり、それによる幕府の基盤御家人体制の維持に力点があったと理解されている。