19日に #北野天満宮 を訪問しました。今年は温かい日が多く、梅が各地で見頃です。
I visited #Kitanotenmangu Shrine on 19th. It's been mild weather this year and plum blossoms are at their peak.
北野天満宮は学力向上・合格祈願などのご利益が知られ、学問の神様・菅原道真を祭神としてまつります。
This shrine is known for getting academic achievement and acceptance in university or high school. The deity here is a historical person.
1月・2月の受験シーズンにふさわしい神社です。
This is the right place to come pray for your success during entrance exam season from January to February.
菅原道真は幼少期より梅を愛したことで知られ、和歌や漢詩を残しています。
The person, Sugawara-no-Michizane loved plum so much from his childhood and he made poems in Japanese language and also in Chinese.
そのため、道真公をまつる天満宮では神紋には梅が用いられ、あちこちで芳しい様々な種類の梅を見ることができます。
That'the reason why you can see a plum symbol here. And different kinds of plums with elegant aroma, too.
道真公が大宰府へ発つ際に詠んだ「東風吹かば 匂ひおこせよ 梅の花 主なしとて 春な忘れそ」はあまりにも有名で、受験シーズン、お持ちの鉛筆に彫ってあった記憶がある方も多いかもしれません。
He created a very famous poem about spring and plum when he was set into exile. It's so famous that many school children have a pencil in which this poem is carved.
かつて、中国の思想を受け入れた日本は、春は東からやってくるものと考えていました。春風のことを「東風」と書き、古くは「こち」と呼びました。
In ancient times, Japanese learned Chinese ideas and started to think spring would come from the east.
時折吹く風のあたたかさに、春の兆しを感じる日も多くなってきました。
Spring sometimes touches us by gentle wind and we can feel it is around the corner.
依然として残る寒さの中でも真っ先に美しい花を咲かせる梅の花に、昔の人たちも春の到来を知り喜んだのでしょう。
But still in the morning and at night, it's chilly. Plum is an earlier flower blooming in such a condition, which should have been encouraging people.
受験シーズンもいよいよ終盤。多くの方に新しい春がやって来て欲しいと思います。
February is almost finishing. I hope everybody can get accepted by schools and universities to start a new wonderful life.
