Dazaifu Tenmangū Omotesandō, Dazaifu

As is traditional with shrines and temples, the road to Dazaifu Tenmangū is lined with shops and restaurants. This grew from the need to provide those on pilgrimages with supplies, and so stalls sprung up selling everything from buns to sandals, and over the centuries this has grown. You may have heard of the Starbucks…

Dazaifu Tenmangū, Dazaifu

Dazaifu Tenmangū is a large shrine complex in the town of Dazaifu, Fukuoka, dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane. As you may recall from my post on the Yushima Tenmangū, Sugawara was a Heian-era scholar and poet who was, after his death, deified as Tenjin. Sugawara was born in Kyoto in 845, and was writing poetry…