First walking around this temple, the grounds inspired me to want to do
my homework in a place like this- little did I know that the temple
enshrines Sugawara Michizane, the patron deity of learning.
Kitano-Tenman-Gu
is a temple with an interesting history. It enshrines Sugawara
Michizane, who was favored in the late 800s by Emperor Uda for his great
knowledge and learning. However, Sugawara was exiled from court due to
slander, and in 903, he died in exile. Following his death, severe
earthquakes and thunderstorms hit Japan, and seemed never to cease,
culminating in 923 with the death of the Crown Prince Yasuakira at 21
years old. Rumors started that it was the wrath of Sugawara, who had
been wrongly forced into exile when he had been loyal to the crown, as
the slanderers and their families as well met with disaster. In 930, a
bolt of lightning struck the Imperial Palace (which was still in Kyoto
at the time), which deeply effected Emperor Daigo’s health and
well-being.
Because of prophecies spoken in 942 by
Tajihi-no-Ayako, who claimed to have received an oracle from Sugawara
in her own home, and of the priest Miwa no Yoshitane, who had also
received an oracle, in 947, the Kitano shrine was built. Sugawara was
deified under the name Tenjin as the God of Thunder and Fire. Many oxen
were sacrificed in offering to Tenjin, which is why the temple has an
abundant number of oxen statues leading up to the main shrine. In the
Kamakura period, however, Tenjin’s court rank was posthumously elevated
once again and he ceased to be a vengeful spirit, instead becoming a
state-protector deity. By the time of the Middle Ages, Tenjin had
certain functional anecdotes attributed to him due to his life as
described in the text Kitano Tenman Engi,
such as sincerity, filial piety, clearing the falsely accused and being
the guardian relating to calligraphy and poetry. He is also important to
Japan’s poetic forms, such as waka and renga, and is considered one of
the three waka deities. Presently, he is worshipped as the God of
Learning and Examinations. [1] [2]
The temple itself is absolutely
gorgeous. Entry into the main shrine is free, and on the 25th of every
month, the treasure house is opened for a small fee. Much of the artwork
and paintings have been left to the open air, so the temple still feels
much like a temple, instead of a museum. Some of the paintings are so
worn by the weather that all remains are the reliefs of where the paint
once was. Knowing how many oxen were probably sacrificed to this shrine
is a little sad for me, but the stone and brass statues that remain are
quite beautiful. Entering the shrine grounds, you pass a covered well,
which is allegedly the same well used to draw the water for the Kitano
Ocha-no-Yu (tea ceremony), a famous tea ceremony that commemorated
Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s attack on Kyushu October 1, 1587. Sen no Rikyu (the
father of the Japanese Tea Ceremony) was in attendance.
After
the well and the oxen, all visitors must pass under the Romon Gate, a
two storied gate protected by two wooden Zuishin statues. Zuishin
statues are kami warrior-guardians and are often sculpted to be holding
bows and arrows. They are Kadomori-no-Kami, gods who guard over shrine
gates. After the gate, you have free access to the whole of the shrine.
Right now, there are many ceremonial items on display, as on October
1-5, there will be a large festival- the Zuiki-Matsuri, an important festival of Kyoto. I’m looking forward to going. Please check out my gallery for pictures of the shrine!