Sugawara no Michizane

Sugawara no Michizane was born in 845 into a long line of scholars who served the Japanese Court. Growing up, Michizane studied Chinese, and became a very well spoken and prominent poet, and in 870 he was granted Senior Sixth Rank in the Japanese Court. Michizane enjoyed a quick rise to power, being granted Fifth Rank in 874, and appointed to Ministry of Ceremonial in 877 while simultaneously being promoted to Professor of Literature at Kanka Rōka, our equivalent of a university.

In 886, Michizane was appointed Governor of Sanuki Province of Shikoku. Being removed from the capital by his new position, Michizane was not as involved in the academic community as he once was, however, he was still highly regarded. Thus, his opinion was sought in the Akõ Debate of 888, an incident regarding semantics of the term akõ, a title in which a member of the Fujiwara clan was given by the emperor. The debate lay in whether or not the title warranted power and responsibility. Michizane wrote a letter to Mototsune of the Fujiwara clan siding with the emperor, and while this favored Michizane in the eyes of the emperor, it led to his rivalry with the Fujiwara clan.

Being held in high regard of the Court, Michizane was rapidly promoted and made his way to Junior Second Rank by 901. However, due to rumors spread by the Fujiwara clan that he was plotting treason, he was demoted and sent as an official to Dazaifu, a form of political exile. Sugawara no Michizane died in exile in 903.

Due to the fact that Michizane was forced into exile due to false rumors spread by members of Fujiwara clan, Michizane came back as an onryõ, or angry spirit. In 909, Fujiwara no Tokihira, Michizane’s rival, died due to unknown circumstances. Then, in 922 the Crown Prince, Tokihira’s nephew, also died, leading to the belief that Michizane’s spirit was enacting revenge on those who wronged him. Michizane’s rank was restored in the Court records, in an attempt to pardon him and appease his spirit, however, another Crown Prince related to Tokihira died at the age of five in 925. Many of these untimely deaths were followed by natural disasters such as drought and a massive lightning storm in 930. The lightning struck the emperor’s palace, killing many officials, including the man bribed to spread the false rumors about Michizane, the Daigo also fell ill and died.

In 947, the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine was established to deify Sugawara no Michizane. The government officially recognized the Kitano Shrine in 987, thus establishing Sugawara no Michizane as the god of literature and scholarship known as Tenjin, effectively appeasing the angry spirit of Sugawara no Michizane.

Tenmangu Shrines

Tobiume - flying plum tree

Wooden plaques with students' wishes

There are hundreds of Tengmangu Shrines located across Japan which honor Sugawara no Michizane. The most famous of the shrines is the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, which was built on Michizane's grave in order to appease his onryō, or angry spririt. These shrines' grounds are often very beautiful, full of plum trees, ponds and bridges, statues, and more. The plum tree was very important to Sugawara no Michizane, and he often wrote about it. At the Dazaifu Shrine, there are roughly 6,000 plum trees, however there is also one particular plum tree to the right of the main hall, known as tobiume, or flying plum tree. It is said that once Michizane was sent into exile, he recited the poem below, and the plum tree flew from Kyoto to Dazaifu to be with him. Visiting the Tenmangu Shrines prior to exam period is popular amongst students, who write down their wishes on wooden plaques that they hang in designated areas within the shrine grounds. These wishes typically ask for good luck and success on their upcoming exams, and in their studies.

Waka poetry by Sugawara no Michizane

Japanese Bush Warbler

Deep within this valley

The light of spring

Comes late, so

‘Tis buried ‘neath the snow:

The bush-warbler’s song.

The Flying Plum Tree and MichizaneArtist -Utagawa Hiroshige IBoston Museum of Fine Arts

Should the east winds blow,

Carry me the fragrance

Of plum blossom;

And though your lord is gone,

Never forget the springtime.

Artist - Kitao ShigemasaLibrary of Congress

Although it is old,

The pine tree grows

ever greener,

while my black hair

becomes frosted with snow.

Literary and theatrical appearances:

Raiden: The God of Thunder and Lightning

This noh play tells the story of Michizane's streak of revenge on those who had him exiled, including his infamous lightning strike on the empirial palace. The character of Raiden, based off of the thunder god, Raijin, appears in many other works and may not always be associated with Sugawara no Michizane. One of the more contemporary examples of Raiden in pop-culture would be the character Raiden, who appears in long standing video game series, Mortal Kombat.

Left, Raiden from Mortal Kombat.

The Sugawara Secrets of Calligraphy

Modeled after Chikamatsu Monzaemon's 1713 play depicting Michizane's full life
Completed 1746
Still frequently performed in puppet and kabuki theater

Bibliography

Borgen, Robert. Sugawara No Michizane and the Early Heian Court. Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1985.

“Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine• Shrine in Dazaifu.” Osaka Travel: Shitennoji Temple, www.japan-guide.com/e/e4851.html.

Foster, Michael Dylan, and Kijin Shinonome. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore. University of California Press, 2015.

Marra, Michele. “Osaka Gaikokugo Daigaku Gakuho.” Osaka Gaikokugo Daigaku Gakuho, vol. 64, 1984, pp. 437–446.

Stockdale, Jonathan. Imagining Exile in Heian Japan: Banishment in Law, Literature, and Cult. Univ. of Hawaiʻi Press, 2015.

“Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy.” Columbia University Press, cup.columbia.edu/book/sugawara-and-the-secrets-of-calligraphy/9780231059879.

"Sugawara Michizane." Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, 11 Aug. 2018. academic-eb-com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/levels/collegiate/article/Sugawara-Michizane/70186. Accessed 19 Nov. 2018.

Temca. “Tag: Sugawara No Michizane.” Waka Poetry, www.wakapoetry.net/tag/sugawara-no-michizane/.

Tuck, Robert. "Poets, Paragons, and Literary Politics: Sugawara no Michizane in Imperial Japan." Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. 74 no. 1, 2014, pp. 43-99. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/jas.2014.0004

“Winter: The Flying Plum Tree of Dazaifu in Tsukushi; Sugawara Michizane (Fuyu, Tsukushi Dazaifu Tobi-Ume, Sugawara Michizane Kô), from the Series Flowers of the Four Seasons Famous in History (Kodai Meiyô Shiki No Hana).” Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 8 Feb. 2018, goo.gl/QceVRD.

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