It is generally accepted that the aim was to establish a system of government different from the one that had existed up till then by reorganizing the Ritsuryo system, although there is another opinion that Emperor Kanmu's reign marked the end of the Ritsuryo system.
これらは、従来とは異質の統治体制を築こうとするものであり、律令制の再編成とする見解が多数派だが、桓武天皇の時代期をもって、律令制の終焉とする論者もいる。