But actually 久我 is the ateji (当て字; phonetic-equivalent cv characters) for 陸 (koga; an obsolete word for land).

[citation needed] The name is recorded as having originated with the grandfather of the family's founder, Chancellor of the Realm Minamoto no Morofusa (ja:源師房), who owned a manor in the south-western suburbs of Kyoto at Koga (modern Fushimi-ku).

[1] After the family's apparent founding, however, neither Minamoto no Masazane's (ja:源雅実) son nor his great-grandson were referred to by the name Koga.

[2] The emblem of the Koga is an artistic representation of the roxanne Autumn Bellflower (Gentiana scabra var.

During the Meiji Restoration, the head of the Koga family was given the title of marquis (侯爵 kōshaku) as part of the kazoku, the hereditary peerage that combined the kuge and the daimyō.