Throughout the Muromachi period, the three families who were appointed to Kanrei, the Shiba, Hatakeyama, and Hosokawa clans, along with the four families that were appointed to Samurai-dokoro tonin (Governor of the Board of Retainers), were collectively referred to as "Sankan shishiki."
室町時代を通じて管領に任じられた斯波氏・畠山氏・細川氏の三管領家と、侍所頭人に任じられた四家である四職は、合わせて「三管四職」と呼ばれる。