Originally, Nanto rokushu were the sects which taught religious doctrines and were introduced in Japan from the late Asuka to the Nara period, but they were newly established religious schools from the Tendai sect in China.
本来、南都六宗は教学を論ずる宗派で、飛鳥時代後期から奈良時代にかけて日本に伝えられていたが、これらは中国では天台宗より新しく成立した宗派であった。