After the Meiji Restoration, Sarugaku actors, who had been protected by Edo bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) as bearers of Shikigaku (the music and plays for official ceremonies), lost their job, and the performing art Sarugaku faced a crisis of survival.
明治維新により、江戸幕府の式楽の担い手として保護されていた猿楽の役者たちは失職し、猿楽という芸能は存続の危機を迎えた。