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Dazaifu Tenman-gū

Dazaifu Tenman-gū
太宰府天満宮
20100719 Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine 3328.jpg
The honden, or main shrine
Information
Type Tenman-gū
Dedicated to Tenjin
Founded 905
Address 4-7-1, Saifu, Dazaifu
Fukuoka 818-0195
Website www.dazaifutenmangu.or.jp/other/index.htm
Shinto torii icon vermillion.svgGlossary of Shinto

Dazaifu Tenman-gū (太宰府天満宮?) 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 same royal family 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.

The shrine's precinct spans over 3,000 acres (12 km2) and includes several structures. Its 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.


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