During the later Muromachi period (the times of war), Kinen-sai festival in Imperial Court came to a halt just like other rituals, and instead, it began to be held by the Shirakawa-hakuo family, which hereditarily inherited "Jingi haku" (a chief official in charge of matters relating to Shintoism).
室町時代後半の戦乱期には、他の祭祀と同様に宮中での祈年祭も廃絶し、神祇官の伯を世襲してきた白川伯王家が行うようになった。