Under the Ritsuryo system, the jugonshi were considered indispensable for their spells, their medical treatments of the sick and their efforts to make childbirth safer, and the most outstanding from among the jugonshi was appointed jugon hakase (Master Sorcerer, with only one such fixed position); the jugon hakase worked to train and cultivate the jugonsei (apprentice sorcerers, for whom six fixed positions existed).
律令制においては呪禁も病気治療や安産のために欠かせないものとされ、呪禁師の中で優秀なものは呪禁博士（定員1名）に任ぜられ、呪禁生（定員6名）の育成に努めた。