His father, Mitsunaka, formed a group of Genji warriors in Tada, Settsu Province, and as someone who served as a protector of the Fujiwara family, his personality was undeniably warrior-like, but Yorimitsu, who served the Fujiwara's as a keishi (administrator), had a tendency to be described as a person with an aristocratic character.
父の満仲は摂津国多田に源氏武士団を形成し、頼光はそれを継承し、自らは摂関家の警護なども務めているなど武士としての性格も否定できないが、頼光は藤原摂関家の家司としての貴族的人物と評される傾向にある。