These theories have been discussed over a long period of time (this discussion is called 'the za debate'), and the current dominant theory explains that the word "za" originally indicated a place where certain qualified persons gathered all together and thus the word included both the meanings.
これらは、長年議論の対象となってきた（「座論争」）が、今日では座とは本来は一定の有資格者が一同に会する場を指し、両方の意味合いを有していたとする説が有力である。