As Shoju were subordinate to the military family, they attended their master on the battlefields in wartime doing such labor as packhorse driving or carrying the enemy's head; nevertheless, they were not regarded as samurai warriors, and even if they carried the enemy's head, it was not considered as a military achievement.
武家に付随する所従は合戦において戦場に同行し、馬の口引き、敵の首担ぎなどの職責を担ったが、通常士分とは認められておらずその首を取っても手柄とは見なされなかった。