When Hongan-ji Temple was destroyed by warrior monks from the Saito area of Enryaku-ji Temple, and Rennyo, the eighth head of the Hongan-ji school of the Jodo Shinshu sect, sought to find his way into the Hokuriku region, Rennyo aimed his propagation at the monks and followers who were based in the Jodo teachings under the influence of Ikko Shunsho and Ippen, collectively calling them '一向衆' Ikkoshu, meaning 'the people of Ikkoshu sect', instead of '一向宗' Ikkoshu, the name for Ikko Shunsho's sect.
浄土真宗本願寺8世の蓮如が延暦寺西塔の衆徒により本願寺が破却され、北陸地方に活動の場を求めた時に、布教の対象としたのはこうした一向や一遍の影響を受けて同じ浄土教の土壌を有した僧侶や信者であり、蓮如はこれを「一向衆」（「一向宗」ではない）と呼んだ。