November 2, 2008

• 11/2/2008 - Dazaifu

  Today's "go somewhere" was the museum in Dazaifu.  There was a special exhibition about "Tenjin" Sugawara Michizane (845-903).  He was considered a genius in his time and a court scholar in ancient Kyoto.  He was falsely accused of treason against the emperor in a discrediting plot, and was demoted and exiled to a local seat of government in Dazifu, where he died two years later.  He always maintained his innocence.  The ox pulling his funeral cortege picked the place for Michizane's burial by sitting down and refusing to go any farther.  Later this shrine was built on the site at Dazaifu.  Apparently after Michizane died, bad things started happening in Kyoto such as droughts, plagues, fires and floods, and it was assumed these were being caused by his angry spirit, so a series of shrines were set up to placate him.  Michizane is now worshiped as a god of scholars, and prayers for success in entrance examinations are offered to him.  I am not endorsing, just documenting.

  Hub suggested that I travel light and leave my big camera home, so these pictures were taken with my phone.

  

  I couldn't take pictures in the museum, so I took some pictures on the shrine grounds.  There was also a chrysanthemum festival going on.

  

  This was something I had not seen before.  The papers that supposedly tell your fortune were printed in fall colors.

  

  The main building of the Tenmangu Shrine in Dazaifu, dedicated to Sugawara Michizane.

  

  Let's get a bit closer.  There seem to be priests performing a ceremony.

  

  Shrines seem to have mirrors as objects of worship.

  

  This plum tree in front of the shrine building is said to have flown itself from Kyoto to Dazaifu in one night because it missed Michizane so much after he left.

      

  Here are some pictures of some of the large chrysanthemums on display.

  

  They remind me of fireworks.

  

  Let's head around to the back of the shrine building.

  

  Here are hung prayer requests, probably written by students asking for help in school entrance exams.  I had not seen so many in one place before.

  

  This was taken near the stone lanterns in the above picture.  There was a slight breeze that caused these shingles to knock against each other and make a nice wooden sound.

  • 08:30
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