In 1375 (some believe that it may have been 1374), Yoshimitsu ASHIKAGA enjoyed the sarugaku noh performed by Kannami and his son Zeami at Imakumano, Kyoto so much so that sarugaku won the patronage of the shogun, powerful samurai families, and noble courts; and the Kanze company led by Kannami was considered a retainer to bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun).
ところが、1375年（永和(日本)元年1374年説もあり）に京都今熊野で観阿弥が息子の世阿弥とともに演じた猿楽能を足利義満が見物、以降、将軍はじめ有力武家、公家らの愛顧を得、観阿弥が率いる観世一座は幕府のお抱え的存在とみなされるようになる。