| A few minutes' walk from the former Iwasaki residence
is Yushima Shrine, which is commonly known as Yushima Tenjin. This shrine venerates
Sugawara Michizane, who was a scholar, noble, and government official in the early
Heian period (794-1185). Around the Edo period, he came to be worshipped as the
god of learning by scholars, writers, and ordinary people. Even today, when the
season of school entrance examinations rolls around, the shrine fills with young
people who come to pray that they will pass. These visitors purchase a total more
than 50,000 wooden votive tablets, which they hang within the shrine grounds after
writing their wish. |
