Sugawara no Michizane

Sugawara no Michizane (菅原道真, 845-903) was a court noble and Sinologist of the early Heian period. Favored by Emperors Uda and Daigo, he rose to Minister of the Right, but in 901 he was demoted to Dazai-no-Gon-no-Sochi by the slander of Fujiwara no Tokihira and died at Dazaifu in 903. The frequent unusual events and lightning disasters in the capital after his death, and the early deaths in the Fujiwara line, were widely attributed to his unsettled spirit. After the founding of Kitano Tenmangu in 947 CE, he was deified as "Tenma Daijizai Tenjin". Some 12,000 Tenjin and Tenmangu shrines across the country trace their origin to him. Records include the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku, Nihon Kiryaku, Fuso Ryakki, Okagami, and the Kitano Tenjin Engi Emaki (Kamakura period). His Kanke Bunso and Kanke Kosho preserve his Chinese-style poetry. Principal shrines: Dazaifu Tenmangu in Fukuoka, Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto.