Bairin Tenmangu Shrine

Bairin Tenmangu Shrine

Bairin Tenmangu Shrine (梅林天満宮) in Tsuru, Tamana City, Kumamoto Prefecture, keeps four structures registered as Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on September 19, 2003: a main hall, worship hall and two-storey gate of the late Edo period, and a stone torii of 1659 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). All four are owned by the shrine.

The Agency registered the main hall and worship hall as models of design, and the gate and torii for their contribution to the historic landscape.

The Four Structures

The main hall, 3 bays by 2 under a hip-and-gable roof, has a three-bay porch and gathers its carving high up, in the eave coving and the openwork porch brackets (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The worship hall, 3 bays square, has a cusped porch with a large strut carved with the plum-blossom crest.

The two-storey gate, three bays wide, stands on a high base, its lower ridge held up by carved strongmen (Agency for Cultural Affairs). The stout stone torii of the myojin type marks the front of the shrine and anchors the local scene. Each structure is described on its own page.

Visiting

No official information on visiting hours or access was found.