Hello Les. One way to look at this is to use it with this sentence:
"(I place/put) shame on you" - which is not used at all. However it is similar to another sentence that is used - "I put the blame on you". And the main thing to get from each of these example sentences is the context. Its the person forcing that "shame" on the other person. Usually when "shame on you" is used, the person receiving the "shame" is either unaware or not in agreement that they should be shameful.
hope it helps