Who was Sugawara no Michizane?
Sugawara no Michizane (845–903) was a scholar and statesman of the Heian period. A brilliant scholar, he rose to the post of Minister of the Right, but through the schemes of his rival Fujiwara no Tokihira and others he was falsely accused and in 901 exiled to Dazaifu in Kyushu. He never returned to the capital and died at Dazaifu two years later. After his death, one misfortune after another struck the capital, and people feared it was the work of his vengeful spirit. He is counted with Taira no Masakado and Emperor Sutoku as one of the “Three Great Onryo of Japan.”
The Seiryoden lightning strike
After Michizane’s death, Fujiwara no Tokihira, said to have engineered his exile, died young, and misfortune continued to strike his associates and the imperial family. Then, in 930, lightning struck the Seiryoden hall of the imperial palace, killing and injuring many nobles. Emperor Daigo, shocked by the event, died soon after. People believed Michizane’s spirit was taking revenge on the capital by wielding lightning, and he came to be linked with the thunder god.
From vengeful spirit to god of learning
To calm his anger, the court restored Michizane’s rank, and in 947 it built Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto to enshrine him as a god. In time he came to be widely worshipped as “Tenjin-sama,” the god of learning and calligraphy. Today, students still visit Kitano Tenmangu, Dazaifu Tenmangu in Fukuoka Prefecture and Tenmangu shrines across Japan to pray for success in their exams.
