In a broad sense it is a kind of Daikan, but from the Muromachi period on the agents who ruled lands under the direct control of the Muromachi Shogunate were called Daikan, distinct from the Shugodai who was the Shugo's deputy.
広義には代官の一種であるが、室町時代以降は室町幕府の直轄領の土地支配の代理人を代官といい、守護の代理人たる守護代とは区別された。