Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine: History and Shinto Beliefs and Rituals

One of the most important Tenmangu shrine in Japan is the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, a popular tourist attraction in Fukuoka. The shrine is dedicated to Michizane and Tenjin. Michizane is a famous poet and an influential politician from Kyoto during his time, meanwhile Tenjin is a Shinto deity of scholars and education.

Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine is conveniently located near the Dazaifu train station. We started from Hakata station in downtown Fukuoka then alighted at Dazaifu station where the shrine is only 5 to 10 minutes away by walk.

The Torii gates or stone arches mark the entry way to the shrine with the entry path lined with shops, umegaemochi stores, and even a Starbucks café. Umegae mochi is a delicacy in Dazaifu, details of this I’ll share in another blog post.

At the end of the entry path two bridges over a pond awaits to be crossed. These bridges, we were told, represent the Past, the Present, and the Future. According to their Shinto belief, thinking of the Past may cause regret, and thinking of the Future may cause worry. It is said that it’s best to mind the Present where one can control what is still happening.

A few meters past these bridges is a Temizuya, a purification font. This is where we rinsed our hands and mouths using wooden ladles and water from the font. Rinsing the hands and mouth signify cleansing of the mind and body. Doing this ritual is part of the experience and a sign of one’s respect to the shrine.

Our tour guide then brought us in front of the main shrine. He went on to demonstrate how to pray to Tenjin. Curious, I did as he did in the hopes that my wishes will come true. I dropped a 5 yen coin in the black box, said my wish silently, bowed twice, clapped twice, and bowed gain for the last time. Doing rituals like this has a way of making me feel like I am a local though only briefly.

We concluded our Shrine visit by entering the Kanko Historical museum right behind the shrine. The museum shows Michizane’s life through small dioramas. In our case, we were guided by an English pamphlet explaining the scenes. Now I will leave it up to you to find out the tragic story of how Michizane, how a great poet and politician from Kyoto ended up in the remote southern province of Fukuoka.

After going around Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine, our guide then brought us to Kimura Seimenjo, a small udon restaurant a few minutes walk away from the shrine’s exit. I’ll share more about this in a separate blog post.

Honestly, I have seen grander Shinto shrines in Japan from a previous visit back in 2015 but despite the physical simplicity of this shrine, I found it to be one of the most valuable. That morning’s visit to Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine taught me some important Shinto philosophies– one of it I’ve shared earlier– and some significant values from the life story of Michizane (encouraging you to read up about his life). All of the lessons, amazingly, remain applicable to our modern life.

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