Hanyu Tenmangu enshrines Sugawara no Michizane, the Heian-era scholar-statesman who was exiled to Dazaifu in 901 on false charges and died there in 903. Deified as Tenjin after his death, he became the revered guardian of learning for the rural community of Hanyu. Plum blossoms — his beloved flower — bloom in the shrine grounds each early spring, evoking his famous farewell poem upon leaving Kyoto.