By the end of the Heian period the emperor had lost all power, and with the establishment of the shogunate the government was transferred to Kamakura. Officially, the shogun ruled in the name of the emperor, who continued to be an important spiritual and cultural figurehead. This was demonstrated by the alliance of the warrior Ashikaga Takauji and the emperor Go-Daigo to overthrow the Kamakura shogunate. The victory of the Ashikaga clan in the AD 1330s meant a return of government to Kyoto, and greater proximity to the court.

The Kyoto courtiers had continued their cultivation of refined artistic pursuits. Chief among these were poetry (both Chinese verse and the 31-syllable Japanese waka), calligraphy, painting, narrative tales, incense competitions, and tea gatherings. They also continued to provide patronage to artisans of many types working in the capital.

The warrior class emphasised a strict discipline of military training. However, the ideal of combining bu and bun, i.e. both military and civilian arts, which had arisen in ancient China, was taken up by the warrior class in the 13th century. The court continued to be the centre of cultural legitimacy, and the warriors found it necessary to back up their political power with scholarly, literary and artistic accomplishments associated with court culture.