The Shinto deity, Hachiman-shin, which served as the guardian deity of samurai families was a product of this syncretism as is suggested by his name 'Hachiman Bosatsu' and as a result he received the devout protection and worship of the bakufu (Japanese feudal government headed by a shogun) as well as local feudal lords throughout the Kamakura, Muromachi and Edo periods.
鎌倉時代、室町時代、江戸時代では、武家の守護神である八幡神自体が「八幡大菩薩」と称されるように神仏習合によるものであったため、幕府や地方領主によって保護され、祈祷寺として栄えた。