It can also be imagined that he was a close blood relative of MINAMOTO no Yoritomo, who saved his life and added him to the member of gokenin (however, we should not forget that Yoritomo had wariness toward his relatives, so he would have probably kept his relatives at a discreet distance.)
また、源頼朝が彼の命を助けて御家人の列に加えたことからも源頼朝と血縁的に近い人であったことが想像される(ただし、頼朝は親族に対して警戒心を抱いていたことを考えると、近すぎず遠すぎずといった微妙な位置であった可能性が高い)。