北野天満宮本社

About this photo

This photo shows Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto, with a gate and the approach leading to it. It appears in Kyoto Meisho (Famous Sights of Kyoto), published in 1907, and the caption is printed as "Kyoto Kitano Tenmangu Honsha" (Main Shrine). From 1871 (Meiji 4) until after the war, the official name was Kitano Jinja, but the album uses the shrine's traditional name.

Kitano Tenmangu, dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, is the original shrine of Tenjin worship. It was founded in 947 at Kitano, northwest of the Heian capital. The present main hall was built by Toyotomi Hideyori in 1607. It is in the yatsumune-zukuri style, with the main hall and worship hall joined by a linking room called the ishi-no-ma, and it is considered the model for the later gongen-zukuri style. The middle gate in front of the main hall is called Sankomon, the "Gate of Three Lights," for its carvings of the sun, moon and stars.

The main hall is a National Treasure. The shrine is also famous for plum blossoms, which Michizane loved, and about 1,500 trees of some 50 varieties bloom on the grounds. The Baikasai plum festival is held on February 25, the anniversary of Michizane's death, and on the 25th of every month the "Tenjin-san" fair fills the approach with stalls.

Glossary