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Ryukyuan sailors prayed to Tenpi for safe travels at sea, often carrying statues of the goddess onboard their ships, and offering the statues to the shrine upon their safe return.
Ryukyuan sailors prayed to Tenpi for safe travels at sea, often carrying statues of the goddess onboard their ships, and offering the statues to the shrine upon their safe return.
One of the shrine's bells dated to [[1456]], during the reign of King [[Sho Taikyu|Shô Taikyû]]. The inscription indicates that two [[bujo|magistrates]] named Yonafuku and Nakanishi were responsible for its construction.<ref>Gallery label, "Bell of Tenpi-gu Shrine," Okinawa Prefectural Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/30290722982/in/photostream/]</ref>
The Upper Shrine was the center of elite education in the kingdom until the establishment in [[1718]] of the Meirindô at the [[Shiseibyo|Shiseibyô]].<ref>Gallery labels, "Kuninda - Ryûkyû to Chûgoku no kakehashi," special exhibit, Okinawa Prefectural Museum, Sept 2014.</ref> The stone gate of Kami Tenpi Shrine survives today, attached to the Tenpi Elementary School built on the former site of the shrine. The construction style of the gate indicates a transition at that time (in the early 15th century) from the ''aikata-zumi'' style of stone construction to the ''nuno-zumi'' style.
The Upper Shrine was the center of elite education in the kingdom until the establishment in [[1718]] of the Meirindô at the [[Shiseibyo|Shiseibyô]].<ref>Gallery labels, "Kuninda - Ryûkyû to Chûgoku no kakehashi," special exhibit, Okinawa Prefectural Museum, Sept 2014.</ref> The stone gate of Kami Tenpi Shrine survives today, attached to the Tenpi Elementary School built on the former site of the shrine. The construction style of the gate indicates a transition at that time (in the early 15th century) from the ''aikata-zumi'' style of stone construction to the ''nuno-zumi'' style.