Shugendō is an Esoteric Buddhist religion, associated with a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from beliefs, philosophies, doctrine and ritual systems drawn from Esoteric Buddhism, but more minorly the utilization of folk-religion, Shinto, mountain worship, and Taoism to various degrees depending on the sect. A distinction is often made between institutional Shugendo lineages with codified education and practice lineages principally associated with various Shingon and Tendai Buddhist lineages who controlled entrance of various sacred mountain sites of maintained practice and study. While numerous forms of local religious and mountain traditions from the kamakura period forward are sometimes attributed to Shugendo via use of its tools, rites, and vocabulary, this is debated by scholars.