Beautiful shrine representing Kyushu, especially crowded in January and February

4.5
旅行時期：2022/09（約3年前）

by Cyberさん（男性）

太宰府クチコミ：2件

京都の北野天満宮とともに全国の天満宮の総本社とされる、九州で最も有名な神社の一つ。学問の神として広く知られている菅原道真を祭神として祀っていることもあり、受験を控えた1月と2月は特に合格祈願の参拝客で混雑する。同時に本殿前に植えられた飛梅を始め、境内には梅の花がいくつも植えられており、寒さの厳しい季節でも華やぎを見せてくれる。
九州を代表する神社の一つであるが、参道の大鳥居から本殿に至るまでの境内の広さはそれ程広いわけではなく、周遊するだけであれば1時間程度で済む。神社の北側は木々が生い茂っている小高い山となっており、山の各所に末社が点在する。この小高い山と山中にある末社の存在を知る人はほとんど少なく、休日の混雑する時間帯ですらまばらである。
心字池を跨ぐように太鼓橋が架かっており、ほとんどの参拝客はその橋を渡って本殿へ向かうが、池の周囲にも道が整備されているため、車椅子等の障碍を持つ方や大きな荷物を持つ方でも利用しやすい。海外からの参拝客も多いため、多言語対応のガイドブックもある。
例え有名な神社であっても、流石に早朝や夕方は参拝客も多くないため、ゆったり散策しながら参拝するにはそれぞれの時間帯がお勧めである。

It's one of the most famous shrines in Kyushu and, is considered the head shrine of all Tenman-gu shrines in Japan, along with Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto. Since the shrine is dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, widely known as the god of learning, it's especially crowded in January and February with worshippers praying for success in entrance exams. At the same time, the shrine grounds are filled with plum blossoms, including "Tobi-ume" plum trees planted in front of the main hall, which add color even in the cold season.
Although the shrine is one of the representative shrines in Kyushu, the grounds from the Otorii gate on the approach to the main shrine are not that large, and it takes only about one hour to walk around the shrine. To the north of the shrine is a small mountain covered with trees, and the shrine is dotted throughout the mountain. Few people know of the existence of this small mountain and its shrines, which are scattered throughout the mountain, and even during the busiest times of the day on holidays, the number of visitors is sparse.
Most visitors cross the Taiko-bashi bridge over the Shinji-ike Pond to reach the main shrine, but the path around the pond is also well maintained, making it easy for visitors with disabilities such as wheelchairs or those carrying large luggage to use the shrine. Since many foreign visitors come to the shrine, multilingual guidebooks are available.
Even if the shrine is well-known, there are not many visitors in the early morning or evening, so each time of day is recommended for a relaxing stroll.