There were many realistic episodes about the zuryo in collections of tales, such as an episode about FUJIWARA no Nobutada, Shinano no kuni no kami (Governor of Shinano Province) in "Konjaku Monogatari-shu" (The Tale of Times Now Past), in which a phrase "a zuryo must grasp even dirt where he falls" is included, and that of FUJIWARA no Toshihito in "Uji Shui Monogatari" (Collected Tales from Uji), which later inspired Ryunosuke AKUTAGAWA to write "Imogayu"(Sweet-Potato Gruel).
説話集にも受領の実相が描かれており、『今昔物語集』の信濃国守藤原陳忠の説話（「受領は倒るるところに土をつかめ」という文句が知られている）や、『宇治拾遺物語』の藤原利仁の説話（芥川龍之介の『芋粥』の元となった）などの例が挙げられる。