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[[File:Tenkogu-gate.jpg|right|thumb|320px|Gate to Tenkô-gû (Tenpi Shrine) in [[Yokohama]] [[Yokohama Chinatown|Chinatown]].]]

[[File:Tenkogu-gate.jpg|right|thumb|320px|Gate to [[Yokohama Tenko-gu|Tenkô-gû]] (Tenpi Shrine) in [[Yokohama]] [[Yokohama Chinatown|Chinatown]].]]

*''Other Names'': 媽祖 ''(J: Matsu / C: Māzǔ)'', 天后 ''(J: Tenkou / C: Tiānhòu)''

*''Other Names'': 媽祖 ''(J: Matsu / C: Māzǔ)'', 天后 ''(J: Tenkou / C: Tiānhòu)''

*''Japanese/Chinese'': 天妃 ''(Tenpi / Tiānfēi)''

*''Japanese/Chinese'': 天妃 ''(Tenpi / Tiānfēi)''

Tenpi, also known as Mazu, is a [[Taoist]] goddess of the sea, most often prayed to for safe voyages. Tenpi worship is particularly popular in Southern China, Taiwan, and Ryûkyû.

Tenpi, also known as Mazu, is a [[Daoist]] goddess of the sea, most often prayed to for safe voyages. Tenpi worship is particularly popular in Southern China, Taiwan, and Ryûkyû.

Tenpi is said to be the deification of a woman who lived in [[Fujian province]] in the late 10th century, and who was so adored that shrines to her were established following her death; she was later granted the title "Tenpi" (lit. "heavenly princess/queen") by an emperor of the [[Ming Dynasty]], in the 14th century.

Tenpi is said to be the deification of Lin Mo (b.c. [[960]]), a daughter of the Lin family of Meizhou (in Putian county, [[Fujian province]]). She was initiated into the mysteries of Daoism at age 13, and at age 16 she was visited by a Daoist immortal who granted her a magic talisman, allowing her to foresee good and bad fortune, and to protect people from shipwrecks and other calamities. Though she died at the young age of 28, she became a spirit or goddess, and continued to watch over and protect people. She was later granted the title "Tenpi" (lit. "heavenly princess/queen") by an emperor of the [[Ming Dynasty]], in the 14th century. Many in China, Taiwan, Ryûkyû, and elsewhere associate her with being an incarnation of the [[bodhisattva]] [[Kannon]], and in Ryûkyû she is sometimes known as Bûsa-ganashi (J: ''Bôsatsu-sama'', i.e. "the bodhisattva").

 

*[[Kumejima Tenko-gu|Tenkô-gû]] on [[Kumejima]], Okinawa prefecture (extant).  

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