Kitano Tenjinsha, Shinto shrine in Japan
Kitano Tenjinsha is a Shinto shrine located in the residential neighborhood of Kotesashi-Motomachi, in Saitama Prefecture. It consists of a small wooden main hall flanked by stone lanterns and marked at the entrance by a torii gate.
The shrine is dedicated to Tenjin, the deified form of Sugawara no Michizane, a 9th-century scholar and court official who became a god after his death. Tenjin shrines spread across Japan after Michizane was enshrined as a protector of learning.
The name Tenjinsha points to Tenjin, the god of learning, and students often stop here before exams to pray. Small wooden votive plaques, called ema, are sometimes left hanging at the shrine with wishes for success in school.
The shrine is within easy walking distance of Kotesashi Station and sits in a calm residential area with no major landmarks to navigate around. A short visit fits naturally into a walk through the neighborhood and requires no advance planning.
Sugawara no Michizane, to whom Tenjin shrines across Japan are dedicated, is said to have loved plum trees above all other plants during his lifetime. Because of this, plum trees became the symbol of Tenjin shrines, and many still have one planted on the grounds today.
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