The origin of nyotaimori can be traced back to the food play of wakamezake (わかめ酒) performed in Yūkaku during the Edo period, where sake would be poured into a Japanese sex worker's pubic region for drinking purposes. Fuelled by Japan's economic growth in the 1960s, this practice was further evolved by the hot spring bathing (onsen) industry in the Ishikawa Prefecture where the erotic nature of nyotaimori was used as an advertising tactic by the hot spring resorts to attract male customers who were on company trips to the region. The nyotaimori practice dwindled as family and private trips to the onsen destinations became increasingly popular in the 1980s and it was subsequently adopted by catering and sex establishments as an exotic attraction.

Due to the lack of primary sources, the misconceptions of nyotaimori's origin persisted when the practice became internationally known through popular culture.