Entrance exams are an important of every Japanese student’s life, and the exams to enter middle school, high school, and university are almost all held in February (as the school year starts in April). In addition to studying hard and reviewing their textbooks, many students also visit shrines to pray for good luck. The most popular shrines to visit are those referred to as Tenman-gu, or those which enshrine Sugawara no Michizane, a famous 9th-century poet, scholar, and politician, as a patron deity. At the shrines, it is common to write one’s hopes or wishes on an ema, or wooden prayer board, and hand it at the shrine.