Yushima Tenjin 湯島天満宮
Bunkyo, Tokyo · Open in Google Maps
Yushima Tenmangū, usually called Yushima Tenjin, is Tokyo's best-known shrine to Sugawara no Michizane, the god of learning. It also enshrines Ame-no-Tajikarao, the god of strength.
What to look for
- In the weeks before entrance exams, racks of ema boards overflow with students' wishes, written in every hand from neat to frantic.
- Plum trees, Michizane's favorite flower, fill the grounds, and the shrine holds a plum festival in late winter.
- It is a short walk from Ueno and from Kanda Myojin.
Enshrined kami
- Sugawara no Michizane 菅原道真公
- Ame-no-Tajikarao 天之手力雄命
What people pray for here
Passing exams, study, and success in qualifications.
Etiquette
Reading other people's ema is fine; photographing them closely so names can be read is not polite.
New to shrines? Read our short guide to shrine etiquette: purifying your hands, bowing and clapping, offerings, omamori and goshuin.