Spring at Kitano Tenman-gu, Kyoto
Julian BohlerLocated northwest of Kyoto near the famous Golden Pavilion, Kitano Tenman-gu is a Shinto shrine where Sugawara no Michizane, an aristocrat from the ninth century, is worshipped as the deity of education. A tea ceremony is held within the shrine precincts every year on February 25 during the Plum Blossom Festival. Surrounded by hundreds of plum trees in full bloom, around thirty geiko (a local term in Kyoto for geisha) and maiko from the neighbouring geisha district (Kamishichi-ken) will serve matcha tea to visitors, accompanied by delicious Japanese sweets.