From the old days, the Yamato Sarugaku group had served for the Shinto rituals of Kofuku-ji Temple or Kasuga-taisha Shrine, and there were four major groups well known in Japan, including the Tobi Group, the Sakato Group, the Enmani Group and the Yuzaki Group, which were called the Yamato Shiza (the four groups of Yamato Sarugaku).
古くから興福寺や春日大社などの神事に奉仕することを職務とし、外山（とび）座、坂戸座、円満井（えんまんい）座、結崎（ゆうざき）座の4座が特に知られて、大和四座と称された。