The first appearance of shubutsu in historical documents is in the Nihonshoki (Chronicles of Japan), where it's recorded that in A.D. 605 'a bronze Buddha statue and an embroidered image of Buddha - both about 4.8 meters in size, due to be placed in Asuka-dera Temple - were made.'
文献上で最初に登場する繍仏は西暦605年日本書紀に「飛鳥寺に安置する銅・繍の丈六の仏像をそれぞれ造らせる」と記載がある。