[2] Whilst the practice of concealing important religious artefacts within zushi or behind curtains dates to the Heian period, the hibutsu came slightly later.
It is possible that the original practice was based on the Shinto concept of kami (神, "gods") without physical form,[3] however a document from Kōryū-ji indicates that it began at that temple with the concealment of a statue of Kannon imported from Silla in 616.
By the Edo period hibutsu had become a popular concept in Japanese Buddhism, and during this time kaichō ceremonies became major public events, drawing crowds of thousands.
[2] Art historian Shiro Ito notes that hibutsu are a uniquely Japanese phenomenon; other Buddhist cultures do not have any equivalent practice.
[4] It may also serve to protect them from pollution by the impure influences of the mundane world,[2] or to preserve the personal privacy of these "living" embodiments of Buddhism.