12. Shinto and Samurai
Samurai often served as local patrons of Shinto shrines, overseeing their maintenance and rituals. After the 1868 Meiji Restoration, the state restructured Shinto to strengthen national unity, leading to the establishment of State Shinto. This system centralized control over shrines and emphasized the emperor’s divine status, intertwining Shinto practices with state ideology (britannica.com).
