Knowledge becomes thunder and rises to heaven: Sugawara no Michizane and the headwinds of the Heian period (Heian period, late 9th century)

Knowledge becomes thunder and rises to heaven: Sugawara no Michizane and the headwinds of the Heian period (Heian period, late 9th century)

In the Heian court, where bloodlines ruled everything, there was a man who rose to prominence through his learning and brilliance, using only one brush. He was Sugawara no Michizane. While the power of the Fujiwara clan dominated politics, Michizane was unusually promoted to the position of Minister of the Right. However, a man of talent is sometimes the target of jealousy. When Emperor Uda abdicated, Michizane lost his backing and was forced out of politics by the false accusations of Fujiwara Tokihei, who had him transferred to Dazaifu.

However, it was not until his untimely death that his name was inscribed in history: in 894, he proposed the abolition of the Japanese embassy to the Tang Dynasty, opening the door to a "national culture" that respected its own language and sense of beauty, and away from the imitation of Tang culture. His knowledge became the foundation of a culture that eventually culminated in the Kokin Waka Shu (Anthology of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poetry) and The Tale of Genji.

After Michizane's death from illness in Dazaifu, thunder rumbled through the capital, and the deaths of the imperial family and their chief vassals followed in rapid succession. Fearing that this was the work of his grudge, the Imperial Court built the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine and enshrined him as Tenma Daijizai Tenjin. Thus, a scholar-government official became a thunder god and an eternal memory.

Michizane rose by knowledge, fell by power, and rose again as a vengeful spirit. His life is a tragedy of a man who fought against the unreasonableness of his time, and a rebellion of knowledge that dreamed of cultural independence. His spirit descends on the shoulders of those who still write as the god of learning and quietly whispers, "Be a martyr to the truth. "Be a martyr to the truth.