A Tenjin shrine in Gifu Prefecture dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, the deified scholar and poet who became the patron deity of learning and literature. Like other Tenjin shrines throughout Japan, this shrine serves as a place where students and families pray for academic success and scholarly achievement.
- Denomination
- Tenjin
- Religion
- shinto
- Enshrined kami
- Sugawara no Michizane
- Kami enshrined
- Sugawara no Michizane
- Coordinates
- 35.152554, 136.7160311
Visitor tip
Visit during plum blossom season as Tenjin shrines traditionally plant plum trees in honor of Michizane's love for plum blossoms.
Cultural notes
Tenjin shrines are particularly popular during exam seasons when students visit to pray for success in their studies. Sugawara no Michizane was a brilliant 9th-century court scholar who was posthumously deified after his political exile and death.