During the Japanese occupation, the authorities carefully suppressed large-scale gatherings and temple activities for fear of unrest, and the practice of displaying the figurines as offerings at sacrifices fell into decline. By the late 1970s, a surge in interest in local folk crafts among the media and the public led to renewed attention to molded dough figurines.
捏麵人到台灣，第一階段是在清末民初，後來發展到日據時代，由於日本人擔心台灣人藉大拜拜集會聚眾起事，便刻意抑制民間大規模的廟會慶典活動，祭拜擺看桌用的捏麵人，因此沈寂下來。