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[[Image:Michizane.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Sugawara no Michizane in a woodblock print by [[Kobayashi Kiyochika]].]]
*''Born: [[845]]''
*''Died: [[903]]/2/25''
*''Other Names'': 天神 ''(Tenjin)'', 菅丞相 ''(Kan Shôjô)''
*''Japanese'': 菅原道真 ''(Sugawara no Michizane)''
Sugawara no Michizane was a [[Heian period]] courtier and renowned poet who is famous for his exile to [[Dazaifu]], and for his posthumous deification as Tenjin, ''[[kami]]'' of calligraphy and scholarship. His legend, in a variety of forms, is a common subject of paintings, theatre (incl. [[kabuki]] and [[ningyo joruri|puppet theatre]]), and literature.
==Life and Death==
According to some versions of his legend, Michizane was not born, but simply appeared to the [[Sugawara family]] one day, as a young boy. He demonstrated great talent for poetry and calligraphy, and grew up to become a great statesman. His rivals at court, including [[Fujiwara no Tokihira]], however, conspired against him, resulting in [[Emperor Daigo]] exiling Michizane to Dazaifu. This was the court's chief branch office overseeing all of [[Kyushu]], and thus being head of Dazaifu was still a rather high-ranking post, but, due to its remote location, it was considered a serious punishment. It is said that his favorite [[ume|plum tree]] uprooted itself and flew to Dazaifu to be with him.
Though Michizane pleaded with both the Court and the ''kami'' of his innocence, he eventually died in exile, in [[903]]. Legends say that the ox-cart carrying his body back to Kyoto stopped at Tsukushi (in what is today [[Hakata]]) and refused to move further; this was taken as a sign that he wished to be buried there, and so Sugawara no Michizane was buried at Tsukushi.
==Deification==
Following Michizane's death, storms and floods plagued Kyoto. Different versions of the myth feature Michizane appearing above the Imperial Palace as a storm god, either with or without serpents, or other manifestations accompanying him, attacking the palace, or individual courtiers, with lightning and hail.
A later episode of the myth relates that the prominent monk [[Nichizo|Nichizô]] died during a journey to Mt. Kinpusen near [[Yoshino]], and was brought back to life by the gods; he was then led by the spirit of Michizane to Michizane's palace in the heavens, and then to the palace of [[Enma]], King of Hell, where he witnessed the late Emperor Daigo being tortured; the Emperor explained to Nichizô how to pacify Michizane's angry spirit, and he was then returned to earth. Meanwhile, a young girl appeared before the Imperial court, claiming that she had been commanded by Michizane's spirit to construct a shrine to him at the Ukon horse grounds. After a number of other oracles and similar messages, the court began construction on just such a shrine. After the Imperial Palace was destroyed in a fire, the court decided that Michizane's spirit had not yet been pacified, and so they granted him the posthumous title of ''daijô daijin'' ("Chancellor of the Realm"), and named him Tenjin, a ''kami'' of scholarship and calligraphy, and of protection for those wrongfully persecuted.
Today, there are four major Tenjin shrines in Japan, including [[Kitano Tenmangu|Kitano Tenmangû]] in Kyoto, [[Dazaifu Tenmangu|Dazaifu Tenmangû]] in [[Dazaifu (city)|Dazaifu]], [[Egara Tenjin Shrine]] in [[Kamakura]], and [[Umeda Tenmangu|Umeda Tenmangû]] in Osaka, along with a great many smaller/lesser shrines, at which students regularly pray for success in their exams, and in school in general. The kabuki play ''[[Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami]]'' ("Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy"), in which Michizane is referred to as Kan Shôjô ("Prime Minister Sugawara"), is counted among the three most popular ''[[jidaimono]]'' plays in the kabuki repertoire, alongside ''[[Kanadehon Chushingura|Kanadehon Chûshingura]]'' and ''[[Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura]]''.
==References==
*Masako Watanabe, ''Storytelling in Japanese Art'', Metropolitan Museum of Art (2011), 50-53.
[[Category:Heian Period]]
[[Category:Nobility]]
[[Category:Deities]]
*''Born: [[845]]''
*''Died: [[903]]/2/25''
*''Other Names'': 天神 ''(Tenjin)'', 菅丞相 ''(Kan Shôjô)''
*''Japanese'': 菅原道真 ''(Sugawara no Michizane)''
Sugawara no Michizane was a [[Heian period]] courtier and renowned poet who is famous for his exile to [[Dazaifu]], and for his posthumous deification as Tenjin, ''[[kami]]'' of calligraphy and scholarship. His legend, in a variety of forms, is a common subject of paintings, theatre (incl. [[kabuki]] and [[ningyo joruri|puppet theatre]]), and literature.
==Life and Death==
According to some versions of his legend, Michizane was not born, but simply appeared to the [[Sugawara family]] one day, as a young boy. He demonstrated great talent for poetry and calligraphy, and grew up to become a great statesman. His rivals at court, including [[Fujiwara no Tokihira]], however, conspired against him, resulting in [[Emperor Daigo]] exiling Michizane to Dazaifu. This was the court's chief branch office overseeing all of [[Kyushu]], and thus being head of Dazaifu was still a rather high-ranking post, but, due to its remote location, it was considered a serious punishment. It is said that his favorite [[ume|plum tree]] uprooted itself and flew to Dazaifu to be with him.
Though Michizane pleaded with both the Court and the ''kami'' of his innocence, he eventually died in exile, in [[903]]. Legends say that the ox-cart carrying his body back to Kyoto stopped at Tsukushi (in what is today [[Hakata]]) and refused to move further; this was taken as a sign that he wished to be buried there, and so Sugawara no Michizane was buried at Tsukushi.
==Deification==
Following Michizane's death, storms and floods plagued Kyoto. Different versions of the myth feature Michizane appearing above the Imperial Palace as a storm god, either with or without serpents, or other manifestations accompanying him, attacking the palace, or individual courtiers, with lightning and hail.
A later episode of the myth relates that the prominent monk [[Nichizo|Nichizô]] died during a journey to Mt. Kinpusen near [[Yoshino]], and was brought back to life by the gods; he was then led by the spirit of Michizane to Michizane's palace in the heavens, and then to the palace of [[Enma]], King of Hell, where he witnessed the late Emperor Daigo being tortured; the Emperor explained to Nichizô how to pacify Michizane's angry spirit, and he was then returned to earth. Meanwhile, a young girl appeared before the Imperial court, claiming that she had been commanded by Michizane's spirit to construct a shrine to him at the Ukon horse grounds. After a number of other oracles and similar messages, the court began construction on just such a shrine. After the Imperial Palace was destroyed in a fire, the court decided that Michizane's spirit had not yet been pacified, and so they granted him the posthumous title of ''daijô daijin'' ("Chancellor of the Realm"), and named him Tenjin, a ''kami'' of scholarship and calligraphy, and of protection for those wrongfully persecuted.
Today, there are four major Tenjin shrines in Japan, including [[Kitano Tenmangu|Kitano Tenmangû]] in Kyoto, [[Dazaifu Tenmangu|Dazaifu Tenmangû]] in [[Dazaifu (city)|Dazaifu]], [[Egara Tenjin Shrine]] in [[Kamakura]], and [[Umeda Tenmangu|Umeda Tenmangû]] in Osaka, along with a great many smaller/lesser shrines, at which students regularly pray for success in their exams, and in school in general. The kabuki play ''[[Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami]]'' ("Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy"), in which Michizane is referred to as Kan Shôjô ("Prime Minister Sugawara"), is counted among the three most popular ''[[jidaimono]]'' plays in the kabuki repertoire, alongside ''[[Kanadehon Chushingura|Kanadehon Chûshingura]]'' and ''[[Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura]]''.
==References==
*Masako Watanabe, ''Storytelling in Japanese Art'', Metropolitan Museum of Art (2011), 50-53.
[[Category:Heian Period]]
[[Category:Nobility]]
[[Category:Deities]]