The traditional Saitogoma is said to have been held for the first time by Shobo Rigen Daishi, a disciple of a disciple of Kukai, who established the Shingonshu sect, and it is mostly held by the temples inheriting the lineage of the Tozan school of Shugendo (Japanese mountain asceticism-shamanism incorporating Shinto and Buddhist concepts) including Daigo-ji Temple.
伝統的な柴燈護摩は真言宗を開いた空海の孫弟子に当たる聖宝理源大師が初めて行ったといわれており、醍醐寺をはじめとする真言宗の当山派修験道の法流を継承する寺院で行われる事が多い。