Documents including "Nohon Sakusha Chumon" and "Jika Densho" were written during the latter part of the Muromachi period, and in the Edo period, sakushazuke containing the traditions of each playwright were submitted to the shogunate.
室町時代後期には『能本作者註文』・『自家伝抄』などが成立し、江戸時代に入ると各家の所伝からなる作者付が幕府に提出された。