The source of the novel is 'Hinjo, Kiyomizu no Kannon ni tsukaete Tojin no otto ni aitaru katarai, dai sanjusan' (No. 33, the tale of poor woman serving Kannon (Deity of Mercy) in Shimizu to see his husband, a thief) in the volume 16 of "Konjaku Monogatari" (Tales of Times Now and Then collection).
出典は『今昔物語』巻十六「貧女清水観音値盗人夫語第三十三」である。