Petitions had to be submitted through village officers/town officers (with their seals on) to their Daimyo (Japanese feudal lord) or Daikan (local governor), and if the petitions were being sent to the Edo bakufu, the tenkan (written materials) of their feudal lord were required; without this their acts were regarded as illegal, which came under 'sashikoshi negai' (direct petition to a senior officer without following the prescribed procedures) or 'sujichigai no negai' (petition to a government office which does not have jurisdiction) ('Goson okite' [rules for autonomous villages] in 1603, 'Kojisaikyo sadame' [public law for petition] in 1633).
村役人・町役人を通じて（奥印を受けて）、所属する大名や代官に訴状を提出し、江戸幕府への訴えを要する場合には領主の添簡が必要とされ、これがなければ「差越願」・「筋違願」として違法とされた（慶長8年（1603年）「郷村掟｣及び寛永10年（1633年）「公事裁許定」）。