In the Kamakura period, the Zen sect had introduced ihai which became gradually adopted by the other sects except Jodo Shinshu (the True Pure Land sect) and became common in the Edo period.
鎌倉時代に禅宗と共に位牌が持ち込まれると次第に浄土真宗以外の各宗派で用いられるようになり、江戸時代には一般化した。