Shinto

During the Edo period (1600-1868), efforts were made to redefine Shinto as a tradition separate from Buddhism, and a "National Learning" movement emerged. In 1868, the Meiji emperor was restored to power and Buddhism and Shinto were forcibly separated. An aggressive, militaristic attitude was supported by "state Shinto," buttressed by the ancient notion of the emperor as a direct descendent of the deity of the sun, Amaterasu.