The makura fills a variety of roles in rakugo, such as to amuse the audience and get them to relax before the start of the main topic, to lead the audience into the main topic of the story using a related scene, or as a tool to set up the final punchline, among others.
これの果たす役割は、小話で笑わせて、本題の前に聴衆をリラックスさせる、本題に関連する話題で聴衆の意識を物語の現場に引きつける、落ちへの伏線を張る、などが挙げられる。