Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine

Dazaifu Tenman-gu is a Shinto shrine in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is built over the grave of Sugawara no Michizane (845–903) and is one of the main shrines dedicated to Tenjin, the deified form of Michizane.

According to legend, Michizane was a gifted student who composed many poems dedicated to his favorite plum trees. Said to be favored by the gods, Michizane raised the ire of the Fujiwara clan, who exiled him to Kyushu. Michizane spent his exile studying, and died at the age of 57.

When Michizane died, his body was carried by an ox that stopped near a Buddhist monastery. Unable to move the body along, Michizane was buried there by his follower, Umasake no Yasuyuki, and the shrine was built there.

Today, a statue of an ox stands nearby to commemorate the event. It's also said that the plum tree inside the shrine flew from Kyoto to be reunited with Michizane in his death, and that it is always the first plum tree to bloom in Japan.

Soon after Michizane died, five members of the Fujiwara clan, the royal family involved in Michizane's exile, died, one from a lightning strike that struck the clan's castle. Michizane, deified as Tenjin, was thus seen as a vengeful spirit. When disasters struck Kyoto, the Fujiwara clan aimed to appease Michizane's spirit and, as penance, reinstated his position and rank posthumously. Through this appeasement, Tenjin's reputation became associated with literature and education.

Walking towards the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine.
The shrine's precinct spans over 3,000 acres (12 km2) and includes several structures.

Map of the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine.
On this map north is at the top and south is at the bottom.

Stone Torii.
The stone torii is just behind the Dazaifu Tenman-gu Information Center.

A torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred.

Divine Bull Statue.
When Michizane died, his body was carried by an ox that stopped near a Buddhist monastery. Unable to move the body along, Michizane was buried there by his follower, Umasake no Yasuyuki, and the shrine was built there.

Today, a statue of an ox stands nearby to commemorate the event.

Second torii before the Tai Ko Bridge.
After this second torii is the Tai Ko Bridge over the Shinji-ike Pond.

A miko keeps the shrine clean.
A miko, or shrine maiden, is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. Miko were once likely seen as shamans, but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained to perform tasks, ranging from sacred cleansing to performing the sacred Kagura dance.

The traditional attire of a miko is a pair of red hakama (divided, pleated trousers), a white kosode (a predecessor of the kimono), and some white or red hair ribbons.
In Shinto, the color white symbolizes purity.

Shinji-ike Pond.
A shinji-ike ("pond in the shape of the heart character") is a pond typical of Japanese gardens whose shape derives from that of the logogram of Chinese writing which means "heart, feeling". In Japanese, the reading of the logogram is shin, hence the name.

The shape of these ponds does not exactly take the shape of the logogram, but its Japanese calligraphic variant in sosho style ("writing (sinuous as) grass"), in which the character takes on a very dilated and soft form.

Tai Ko Bridge and Imao Shrine.
The Tai Ko Bridge crosses the Shinji-ike Pond. On the right side of the photo we can see the Imao Shrine.

Third torii before the gate.
After this torii, on the left side is the Outdated Amulet Return, and on the right side is the Chozuya (water ablution pavilion).

Outdated Amulet Return and Chozuya.
On the left side is the Outdated Amulet Return, and on the right side is the Chozuya (water ablution pavilion).

At this point on the way, we turn right to visit the Shinboku.

Shinboku.
A shinboku is a tree or forest worshipped as a shintai – a physical object of worship at or near a Shinto shrine, worshipped as a repository in which spirits or kami reside. They are often distinctly visible due to the shimenawa wrapped around them.

The shrine is also known for its 6,000 ume (Asian plum) trees belonging to 167 varieties.

Returning to the main path.
After visiting the Shinboku, we return to the main path.

Chozuya.
Chozu-ya or temizu-ya is a Shinto water ablution pavilion for a ceremonial purification rite known as temizu or chozu (lit. 'hand-water'). The pavilion contains a large water-filled basin called a chozubachi (lit. 'hand water basin').

At shrines, these chozubachi are used by worshippers for washing their left hands, right hands, mouth and finally the handle of the water ladle to purify themselves before approaching the main Shinto shrine or shaden.
This symbolic purification is normal before worship and all manned shrines have this facility, as well as many Buddhist temples and some new religious houses of worship.

Kirin Statue.
The qilin is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the lin mythological family of one-horned beasts. The qilin also appears in the mythologies of other cultures.

Kirin, which has also come to be used as the modern Japanese word for a giraffe, are similar to qilin. Japanese art tends to depict the kirin as more deer-like than in Chinese art. Alternatively, it is depicted as a dragon shaped like a deer, but with an ox's tail instead of a lion's tail. They are also often portrayed as partially unicorn-like in appearance, but with a backwards curving horn.

Suijin Shrine.
Suijin (water god) is the Shinto god of water in Japanese mythology. The term Suijin (literally: water people or water deity) refers to the heavenly and earthly manifestations of the benevolent Shinto divinity of water. It also refers to a wide variety of mythological and magical creatures found in lakes, ponds, springs, and wells, including serpents (snakes, dragons, eels, fish, turtles), and the flesh-eating kappa.

Suijin is often conflated with Ryujin, the Japanese dragon god associated with water. Fudo Myoo is sometimes called "Suijin" because of his believed association with waterfalls.
People worship Suijin with offerings, believing that doing so will ensure pure and unpolluted water for drinking, agriculture, and sanitation, and will bring success in fishing trips, fertility, motherhood, and easy childbirth.

Ox to the left of the Romon Gate.

Right side of the Romon Gate.
The romon (lit. tower gate) is one of two types of two-storied gates used in Japan (the other one being the nijumon). Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it is now used at both Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.

Shinto shrines have protective deities just like Buddhist temples.

Left side of the Romon Gate.
In front of the gate, on both sides, are the Komainu (lion-dogs).

Komainu, often called lion-dogs in English, are statue pairs of lion-like creatures either guarding the entrance or the honden, or inner shrine of many Japanese Shinto shrines or kept inside the inner shrine itself, where they are not visible to the public.
Meant to ward off evil spirits, modern komainu statues usually are almost identical, but one has the mouth open, the other closed (however, exceptions exist, where both komainu have their mouth either open or closed). The two forms are called a-gyō, (lit. '"a" shape') and un-gyō (lit. '"un" shape') or referred to collectively as a-un.

Ema hall (Ema-do).
Ema (lit. 'picture-horse') are small wooden plaques, common to Japan, in which Shinto and Buddhist worshippers write prayers or wishes. Ema are left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami (spirits or gods) are believed to receive them.

Typically 15 cm (5.9 in) wide and 9 cm (3.5 in) tall, they often carry images or are shaped like animals, or symbols from the zodiac, Shinto, or the particular shrine or temple.
Once inscribed with a wish, ema are hung at the shrine until they are ritually burned at special events, symbolic of the liberation of the wish from the writer.

Sanctuary courtyard.
Just beyond the gate, there is a small bridge.

Kamado Shrine Reception.
Reception is on the right-hand side.

Popularity among students.
The shrine enjoys great popularity among students especially during the entrance exam season, when enormous amounts of ema charms can be seen hanging on the shrine grounds.

Because of his great learning, Michizane has been associated with Tenjin, a Shinto deity of education, and is popular among students.

On the way to the main hall.
The honden, or main shrine, was first built by Yasuyuki Umasake in 905, two years after the death of Michizane. A larger structure was constructed by the Fujiwara clan in 919 but was destroyed in a fire during a civil war.

The Momoyama-style shrine visitors see today dates from 1591 and is an Important Cultural Property.

Empress’ Plum.
Dazaifu Tenmangu has a plum tree famous for the legend that says it flew from Kyoto to join teacher Sugawara no Michizane. Much later, an Empress planted another at its side.

The main hall.
In Shinto shrine architecture, the honden (main hall), also called shinden, or sometimes shoden as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined kami, usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue. The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public.

In front of it usually stands the haiden, or oratory.
The haiden is often connected to the honden by a heiden, or hall of offerings.

Tobiume tree.
One tree, known as Tobiume, stands directly to the right of the honden. Legend has it that after Michizane left Kyoto in exile, he yearned so much for this tree that it uprooted itself and flew to Dazaifu Tenman-gū.