However, today it is said that both cultures are generally discussed together as 'Muromachi culture' according to the following reasons; when Higashiyama culture began and ended is not clear, there is criticism that the era of Yoshimochi and Yoshinori are ignored and both have many points in common such as the influence of the Zen sect and the fusion of the culture of the nobility and the culture of the samurai class.
しかし、東山文化がいつ始まりいつまで続いたか区分が明確でないことや、義持・義教の時代が無視されてしまうことへの批判、禅宗の影響や公家文化と武家文化の融合など共通性が多いことから、今日の歴史学では両者を合わせて「室町文化」として論じるのが一般的であるという。