In a country reknowned for its fall colors,
Kyoto is singulary beautiful
Multiple lightup events are hosted around the city
to capture the many shades of red yellow and orange
We take you to visit 3 such sites.
Nagaoka Tenjin, Shimogamo Shrine, and Kitano Tenmangu
Together they represent many hundreds years of history
and tradition
On a beautiful evening in November
The gateway standing at the entrance to the shrine is called Torii.
It indicates that the area inside the gateway is sacred space.
The Shrine is consecrated to the worship of
Sugawara Michizane(845-903)
He was a prominent minister and a scholar of Chinese literature
He was exiled to Dazaifu in Kyusyu by his rival the Fujiwara regent.
He dropped in at this shrine on his name of Tenjin
as the god of study .
Near the shrine there is a large pond named Hachijyo-gaike
,shrrounded by many Kirisima azaleas,making this place beautiful
Located on the southern banks of the Kamo river,
Kamomioya-jinja both reflects and inspires Kyoto City
And now a world heritage
"Mizu-Mikuji" (water lucky draw)
The lucky draw is dipped in the sacred river
until the result comes out
Known as the most powerful shrine of "match making"
you see many couples or singles seeking their luck
You may take home the good result,
or hang it on a railing for unsatisfying results
so that the sacred tree will absorb the bad luck for you
After walking the torii (gateway) and walking thru Sando (pathway)
there is a sacred place to cleanse your hands
Kitano Tenmangu was also built by Sugawara Michizane
It is the very first shrine in Japanese history
where an actual person was enshrined as a deity
He is known as the “god of honesty and sincerity,”
“god of agriculture,”
“god of dispelling false accusations”
but still best known for being the “god of academics.”
There are as many as 12,000 shrines
dedicated to Sugawara Michizane in Japan
but the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is the origin
and the main shrine
To this day, students all around Japan pay their visit to this shrine
to ask for success in their studies and exams