 Besides schools directly imported from China, Japanese Confucians developed their own variations, occasionally assimilating aspects of Shintō. Even more syncretic were teachers of practical philosophy who directed their teachings to ordinary townspeople, mixing various levels of teaching and praxis (including Buddhism and Shintō) according to the needs and talents of the audience, even to the extent of having different wings in their academies dedicated to different levels and kinds of teaching for different audiences.