And some ryokes donated to more powerful aristocrats such as Imperial Families or sekkan-ke and the highest ranking lord of shoen was called honke (the owner of the highest-graded patches of land under the stratified land ruling structure of shoen).
さらに領家から、皇族や摂関家などのより有力な貴族へ寄進されることもあり、最上位の荘園領主を本家（ほんけ）といった。