The reason why some Minamoto clan flourished as nobles while others became samurai and Shinto priests is because their positions were largely dependent on the political situation, who demoted them and their maternal classes and influences.
同じ源氏でも公卿として繁栄する系統や、武士や神官となる系統に別れるのは、政治情勢や臣籍降下する者、母方の勢力や身分がその後の官途に大きく左右する為である。