Kitano Tenmangu Shrine

Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is a Shinto shrine in Kamigyo ward in northwest Kyoto. It is dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, a Heian-period scholar and statesman. He is worshipped as Tenjin, the god of learning. Entry to the shrine grounds is free.

The shrine was built in 947. Michizane had been slandered at court and exiled to Kyushu, where he died. A run of thunderstorms and earthquakes struck the capital after his death, and the court built the shrine to calm his spirit. According to the shrine, it was the first in Japan to enshrine a real person as a deity, and it is the head of about 12,000 Tenmangu shrines across the country. Students still come in large numbers to pray for exam success.

What to see at Kitano Tenmangu

The main hall and gates

The main hall, the worship hall and the Ishi-no-ma hall that joins them sit under one combined roof. This style is called yatsumune-zukuri. Toyotomi Hideyori built the present complex in 1607, and the main hall is a National Treasure. The Romon and Sankomon gates date from the same time and carry the gilded fittings and bright carving of the Momoyama style.

Ox statues

Stone statues of reclining oxen stand all around the grounds, because the ox is Tenjin's messenger. Michizane was born in a year of the ox, and legend says the ox pulling his funeral cart lay down and refused to move at the spot where he was buried.

Shrine museum

The Homotsuden museum holds the shrine's collection, including the illustrated scroll of the shrine's origins, which is a National Treasure. It opens on the 25th of each month and charges 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for high school and junior high students. The shrine's English visitor guide lists the rest of the collection.

Plum blossoms at Kitano Tenmangu

Michizane loved plum trees, and the shrine is one of the best-known plum-viewing spots in Japan. The plum garden (Baien) opens to the public when the trees bloom, usually in February and March, and a separate fee applies.

The plum blossom festival on February 25 includes an outdoor tea ceremony where geiko and maiko from Kamishichiken, Kyoto's oldest geisha district, serve matcha and sweets. It is one of the few chances to see them outside a teahouse, so read about seeing geisha in Kyoto before you go.

Fall leaves at the Momiji-en

In fall, the Momiji-en maple garden opens with about 350 maple trees. It sits along a surviving stretch of the Odoi, the earthen wall Toyotomi Hideyoshi built around Kyoto, which is a national historic site. The shrine lights up the garden in the evenings during the leaf season.

Tenjin-san flea market

A market called Tenjin-san fills the grounds and the streets outside on the 25th of every month, the day linked to Michizane's birth and death. Stalls sell antiques, used kimono, old tools and street food. It starts early in the morning, and arriving early gives you the best choice before the crowds build.

How to get to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine

• From Kyoto Station: Kyoto City Bus 50 to Kitano Tenmangu-mae, about 35 minutes

• From JR Emmachi Station: City Bus 203, about 10 minutes

• From Imadegawa subway station: City Bus 51 or 203, about 15 minutes

• By Randen tram: Kitano-Hakubaicho Station on the Randen Kitano Line, a 5-minute walk

The Randen line makes it easy to combine the shrine with Ninna-ji or Arashiyama on the same day. The hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus also stops at the shrine on its loop of the city.

To the northwest, the shrine pairs well with Kinkaku-ji's gold-leaf pavilion for a half day in the north of the city.