The four ranks of the kokushi system were known as the shitokan, with the individual ranks being kami (governor), tsuke (vice-governor), jo (secretary) and sakan (clerk) (for more information, refer to 'the local government system in ancient Japan').
四等官である守(国司)（かみ）、介(国司)（すけ）、掾（じょう）、目(国司)（さかん）等を指す（詳細は古代日本の地方官制も併せて参照のこと）。