As the statue was made of pine, which is unique for the statues created in the Asuka period, there has been a theory that the statue came from the Kingdom of Silla in 623 as written in Nihonshoki (Chronicles of Japan).
像はマツで作られる点が飛鳥時代の作例としては例外的であるため、日本書紀記載の推古31年新羅から伝来したものとする説もある。