Shoju originally meant 'subordinates,' and those in this category were owned by nobleman, military families, temples, and shrines and propertied farmer and so on for servile labors, and were regarded as properties to be transferred or inherited.
本来は「従者」の意味であり、貴人・武家・寺社・有力農民などに付属して、雑務労役を担い、譲渡や相続の対象となった。