Zabuton were commonly made using meisen until the 1960s when meisen production ceased.

The zabuton originates from an earlier type of cushion called a shitone , used in early Japan by the aristocratic class. A shitone is roughly the same size and shape as a zabuton, but consists of layers of straw matting covered with cloth as opposed to the cotton-filled zabuton. One traditional method of making a zabuton involves layered cotton stuffing laid on top of a square piece of fabric, folded in