Yabo Tenmangu（谷保天満宮）

ー江戸っ子が好んで使ったこの「やぼてん」という侮蔑語ー実はここ谷保天満宮がその起源といわれています。江戸時代、てもと不如意の谷保村・天満宮が、目白で本尊を市民に公開し、そこで寄付金を募ったところ、これを見ていた当時の狂歌の太田屬人が一首『神ならば出雲の國へ行くべきに、目白で開帳やぼのてんじん』と詠んだことにはじまる。以来この言葉は広辞苑にもなるほどの有名な俗語になってしまったのです。 

ーHave you ever heard the Japanese word “Yaboten”? In standard dictionaries like the Kojien, it is a well-known, old-fashioned slang word used to mock someone who is incredibly “uncool,” “unrefined,” or lacking in fashion sense (similar to calling someone a “country bumpkin” or “hopelessly out of touch”).

Surprisingly, this famous insult from the Edo period is said to have originated right here at Yaho Tenmangu Shrine!

Back in the Edo era, Yaho Village and its shrine found themselves desperately short on funds. Hoping to raise donations from wealthy Tokyoites, the priests packed up their sacred treasures and traveled to the bustling district of Mejiro in central Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to host a special public exhibition.

Watching this display, the legendary and witty Edo satirical poet, Ota Shokuzan, couldn’t resist poking fun at them. He brushed a famous, biting poem:

“If you were a true God, you should have traveled to the grand province of Izumo… yet here you are, hosting a side-show in Mejiro, you country-bumpkin Tenjin of Yaho!”

(Note: This was a brilliant multi-layered pun in Japanese, playing on the word “Yabo,” which means both the place name Yaho and the word for “uncool/rustic.”)

Word traveled fast. Thanks to the Edo people’s love for sharp-tongued humor, the shrine’s nickname “Yabo-Ten” quickly morphed into the popular slang “Yaboten” to describe anything hopelessly unrefined. It is a delightfully human, cheeky piece of local history hidden behind the serene beauty of the shrine today!

ーふつう神社の社殿は平地より高いところにあるものですが、なぜか谷保天神の参道は階段をおりていきます。これは谷保天満宮の社殿が建立された当時は、甲州街道が境内の南側を通っていたため。現在の甲州街道は江戸時代からで、徳川家康が関ケ原の合戦の記念につくったという説があります。ちなみにこのように社殿が平地よち低い位置にある神社は日本広しといえどもここだけだそうです。

Usually, when you visit a Japanese shrine, the main hall sits high upon a hill or elevated ground. However, at Yaho Tenmangu, you will experience something incredibly rare: the sacred path actually leads down a flight of stairs to reach the main hall. In fact, it is said that this is the only shrine in all of Japan to feature such a unique, sunken structure.

The secret behind this mystery lies in the shifting lines of history and transportation.

When the shrine was originally built, the ancient Koshu-kaido (the main highway) ran along the south side of the grounds, down in the lower valley area near the river. Therefore, coming from the old highway, visitors naturally walked up into the shrine.

However, during the Edo period, the dynamic leader Tokugawa Ieyasu shifted the entire highway northward to its current location—a massive civil project rumored to commemorate his monumental victory at the Battle of Sekigahara. Because the main road moved to the higher ground on the north side, the modern entrance now forces us to walk down into the historic, lower sanctuary.

ー天神様となった菅原道真は梅花を愛し、数々の歌や詩に詠んでいます。中でも太宰府に流された時に、梅に別れを惜しんで詠んだ“東風吹かば、匂いおこせよ梅の花　あるじなしとて春な忘れそ”の和歌は有名です。谷保天満宮の境内に紅白約100本以上の梅があるのはこのためです。

ーSugawara no Michizane, the revered scholar who became the Deity of Learning (Tenjin), possessed a profound love for plum blossoms (Umé), leaving behind countless poems dedicated to their beauty.

Among his works, his most legendary poem was written in a moment of heartbreak, just as he was being unjustly exiled from the capital to distant Dazaifu. Saying a painful farewell to his beloved plum tree, he brushed these famous lines:

“When the eastern wind blows, send your fragrant scent across the land, oh plum blossoms. Even though your master is gone, never forget the spring.”

It is said that the tree loved him so deeply in return that it miraculously flew through the air in a single night to follow him to his place of exile—a legend known as the “Flying Plum” (Tobiume).

To honor this eternal bond between the God of Learning and his sacred blossoms, the grounds of Yaho Tenmangu are adorned with over 100 brilliant red and white plum trees, filling the air with their sweet fragrance every spring.