Compared with the shugo in the Kamakura period, whose authority was limited to military and police authority relating to Taibon-sankajo, Obanyaku (a job to guard Kyoto), etc., the shugo in the Muromachi period had drastically expanded authority.
大犯三ヶ条と大番役などの軍事・警察的職権に限定されていた鎌倉期守護と比べて、室町期守護の権能は非常に拡大していた。