According to the "Sukigaeshi" (literally reconstituting paper from old scraps) by Tanehiko RYUTEI written around the same time, 'the Buppo Sugoroku', which was produced for the first practices for the Tendai-shu sect monks, was its roots.
ほぼ同時期に書かれた柳亭種彦の『還魂紙料』には元は天台宗で初学の僧侶の学習のために作成された「仏法双六」が原型であったとする説を伝えている。