When 'Kanei shoka keizuden' (The Genealogies of the Houses of the Kanei era) was compiled in the reign of Iemitsu, each daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) who rose to a greater prominence in the Sengoku Period (Period of Warring States) attempted to manipulate their genealogy to make it appear that they were from a noble family, such as the genpeitokitsu (shortened expression of four major clans; Minamoto, Taira, Fujiwara, and Tachibana clans).
家光の治世「寛永諸家系図伝」が編纂されるにあたり、戦国時代に成り上がった大名諸家が源平藤橘などと名門の出であると取り繕った系図を競うように作った。