It is considered to be a synonym of 'Namazamurai', which appeared in "Okagami" (Great Mirror; a historical tale), and in diaries such as "Chuyuki" (The Diary of a Court Official) and "Meigetsuki" (Chronicle of the Bright Moon), and stories such as "Konjaku monogatari shu" (Tales of a Time Now Past), "Kokon chomon ju" (A collection of Tales Heard, Past and Present), "Heike monogatari" (Tale of the Heike), and "Ujishui monogatari" (Tales of the Uji Collection).
『大鏡』に登場する「なまざむらい」と同義語とされ、『中右記』や『明月記』などの日記類、『今昔物語集』・『古今著聞集』・『平家物語』・『宇治拾遺物語』の物語類などにも登場する。