Kinzan Tenmangu Shrine

Kinzan Tenmangu, located in Higashinopporo-cho, Ebetsu City, Hokkaido, is a modern Tenmangu founded during the Meiji-era development of Hokkaido. The principal deity is Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), the Heian scholar-courtier demoted to Dazaifu in 901 who died there in 903. The shrine is one of many Tenmangu founded in Hokkaido by tondenhei military colonists and pioneer farmers from the Hokuriku, Tohoku, and Shikoku regions. According to tradition, it was founded in 1905 when settlers invited the divine talisman from Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto or Dazaifu Tenmangu in Kyushu. The shrine buildings were developed from the late Meiji into the Taisho period, and it became a registered shrine of the Hokkaido Jinja-cho during the Showa period. It exemplifies the transplantation of Tenjin devotion to Hokkaido by settlers from their home provinces. The annual rite in September features mikoshi processions through the parish.