Yushima Tenmangu

Dedicated to the deified scholar of learning, this shrine is a magnet for students seeking success in entrance examinations, who tie thousands of wooden prayer plaques to its racks each winter. Founded in the fourteenth century and rebuilt in cypress in the late twentieth, it is equally famous for its plum garden, whose hundreds of trees bloom in late winter and draw crowds to an annual festival. Set on a slope in the old scholarly quarter, its ox statues, worn smooth by touch, are believed to bring wisdom and healing.