He was descended from the Kanmu-Heishi (a branch of the Taira clan), and according to "Sonpi Bunmyaku (a text compiled in the fourteenth century that records the lineages of the aristocracy)", he was the goseimago (the son of great-great-grandchild) of TAIRA no Muneyori who was one of the FUJIWARA no Michinaga Shitenno (the big four retainers of FUJIWARA no Michinaga).
出自は桓武平氏の末流で、『尊卑分脈』による記述では藤原道長四天王の一人とされた平致頼の5世孫にあたる。