Japan Students, Parents Pray for Entrance Exam Success; Wooden Ema Plaques Put Up at Shrine of Famed Scholar

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:09 JST, January 13, 2026

Students and parents are flocking to Yushima Tenmangu shrine in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, to pray for success as entrance exam season gets fully underway.

Yushima Tenmangu enshrines Sugawara no Michizane, a Heian period scholar and court official who is renowned as a “god of academics.”

Many ema wooden plaques hang on the shrine grounds, with wishes written on them such as “Praying to pass the entrance exam” and “I want to get into the school of my choice.”

“I prayed to pass the exam for the school I want to go to. I hope I can draw on all my abilities when I take the test,” said a 17-year-old high school student from Chiba Prefecture.