State Shinto

State Shinto was a system of government policy in the Japanese Empire where the government controlled the religion of Shinto and enforced it on the population. This included non-Japanese people in their colonies. This was justified by a theory called Secular Shrine Theory where Shinto shrines were considered secular.

State Shinto Media

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  Empire of Japan's 50 sen banknote, featuring Yasukuni Shrine

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  This 1878 engraving by Toyohara Chikanobu (1838–1912) visually presents the central tenet of State Shinto (1871–1946). This Shinto variant asserted and promoted belief in the divinity of the Emperor, which arose from a genealogical family tree extending back to the first emperor and to the most important deities of Japanese mythology.

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  Emperor Hirohito and General MacArthur, at their first meeting, at the U.S. Embassy, Tokyo, 27 September 1945

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  A torii gate at Yasukuni shrine

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  Portrait of Atsutane Hirata, hanging scroll

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  Yasukuni Shrine *(Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo)

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  The Empire of Japan at its peak territorial holdings, in 1942