At the time, dengaku (ritual music and dance at shrines and temples, rice dances, and rice festivals) was more popular than sarugaku (form of theatre popular in Japan during the 11th to 14th centuries), and men of power such as Takauji ASHIKAGA supported dengaku.
当時都では猿楽より田楽のほうが評価が高く、足利尊氏などの権力者も田楽を後援していた。