In Kabuki, it is mostly used as the narimono (musical instruments) for nagauta-mono (item featuring long epic songs), and plays an important role especially for Matsubamemono and Notorimono (Nogaku style).
歌舞伎ではもっぱら長唄曲の鳴物として活用され、特に松羽目物・能取物において重要な役割を担う。