Sanpo refers to three offices for musicians which were Kyoto-ho (the Imperial court), Nanto-ho (Kofuku-ji Temple), and Tennoji-ho (Shitenno-ji Temple) and the term "sanpo" is also used as a collective name for these offices for those that existed before the Edo period.
三方とは京都方（宮廷）、南都方（興福寺）、天王寺方（四天王寺）のそれぞれの楽所を指し、これらの総称として江戸以前についても用いる。