Although the Muromachi period was the age of wars, sarugaku (form of theater popular in Japan during the 11th to 14th centuries) (Noh), tea ceremony and Shoin (reception room) (Shoin-zukuri style (a traditional Japanese style of residential architecture that included a tokonoma) developed, and many cultures considered to be a 'Japanese-style' culture at present were created in this period.
室町時代は戦乱の世であったが、東山文化の時代を中心にして、猿楽（能）、茶道、書院（書院造）などが発展し、今日「日本的」といわれる文化の多くがこの時代につくられた。