"Yamanoue Soji ki" (The Record of Soji YAMANOUE), a reliable book of secrets in Rikyu's day, was also written with emphasis on the Zen sect, but Nanboroku obviously placed more emphasis on the spirit than other tea books of the same age; in addition, it used words similar to the ones in tea books of Edo period such as "Zen tea."
禅宗を強調する点は利休時代の確実な秘伝書である『山上宗二記』にも見られるものの、同時代の茶書に較べると精神論の比重が際立って高く、用いている用語に関しても『禅茶録』のような江戸時代の茶書に近い。