In the early Edo period, Ometsuke officers were selected from daimyo, such as Munenori YAGYU, but later, from Hatamoto (direct retainers of the bakufu, which was a form of Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) earning 3000 to 5000 koku (approx. 180 liters/koku) rice yields.
江戸時代初期には、柳生宗矩のような大名からも選ばれていたが、後に石高3千石〜5千石級の旗本から選ばれた。