Myoshus built their houses, governed low-ranking farmers such as genin (servants who served to their masters as slaves) or shoju (retainers) and so on and owned good rice fields called tsukuda (directly-managed rice fields by a lord or an officer of shoen) near their houses, undertaking the cultivation of myoden from local lords and jitos.
名主は領主・地頭から名田の耕作を請け負いながら、屋敷を構え、下人や所従などの下層農民を支配し、屋敷近くに佃（つくだ）と呼ばれる良田を所有した。