Hofu Tenmangu is known as Japan's first Tenmangu shrine, said to have been founded in 904 on the route taken by Sugawara no Michizane when he was exiled to Dazaifu. Ranked with Kitano and Dazaifu Tenmangu as one of the Three Great Tenjin Shrines, it is revered nationwide as the god of learning.

Hofu Tenmangu is traditionally said to have been founded in 904, shortly after the death of Sugawara no Michizane in 903, at the site in Matsuzaki-ura, Hofu, where Michizane is believed to have come ashore while being exiled to Dazaifu. Local people enshrined his spirit soon after his passing, makin…