Every year during the exam season, Sugawara Michijin Tenmangu Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the god of learning, is bustling with a large number of candidates who come to pray for passing the exam.
The so-called Tenmangu Shrine refers to the shrine dedicated to Sugawara Michishin.
Tenmangu Shrine, Dazaifu Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture
Fukuoka Prefecture Dazaifu Tenmangu Prayer Festival for passing the exam
Born in a scholarly family, he has been intelligent since childhood
Sugawara Michimasa, born in 845 AD in a family with deep family and academic roots, was outstanding in literature from an early age, and was said to be able to write waka songs at the age of 5 and Chinese poetry at the age of 11.
As the god of learning, Sugawara Michima now has a high popularity among candidates, but at the beginning, Sugawara Michima was a resentful spirit that terrified the nobles.
Japan's three major ghosts
The emperor appreciated it and rose all the way to the rank of right minister
In 877, at the age of 32, Sugawara Michijin served as the imperial court's head of writing. After that, he successively held official positions such as Major Internal Secretary and Major Assistant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
In 886, he served as a governor in Sangi (present-day Kagawa Prefecture).
In 887, when the Aheng Incident broke out at the imperial court, Sugawara Michijin was deeply worried and entered Beijing to defend Tachibana Hirosang.
1. Article Doctor:
The equivalent of our country's Hanlin bachelor's degree.
2. Less internal notes:
An official of the Ministry of Inner Affairs during the Heian period, responsible for drafting edicts, etc.
3. Ministry of Civil Affairs:
The department in charge of household registration, taxation, fields, etc.
4. Ah Heng incident:
In 887, Emperor Uta ascended the throne and conferred the post of "Sekihaku" on Fujiwara no Kikei, who had made meritorious contributions to his achievements. The edict was written by Dr. Hiroshi Tachibana, a close minister of the emperor, and contained the sentence "Aheng is his position", and Fujiwara no Kikei's assistant Fujiwara no Sayo (who is also a scholar) persuaded Fujiwara no Kikei to "strike" on the grounds that Aheng was not a specific position.
Tachibana Hiro quoted the scriptures to refute it, but Fujiwara no Kikei was too powerful, and eventually the emperor and Tachibana Hiro gave in and rewrote the edict.
The cause of the incident was a struggle between scholars, and Fujiwara no Sayo wanted to use Fujiwara no Kikei's power to oust Tachibana Hiromosa, but in the end the matter turned into a power struggle between the emperor and Fujiwara no Keike.
5. Ah Heng:
During the Yin Shang period on the mainland, the post of prime minister was called Ah Heng. It can be seen that some Japanese scholars at that time had a high level of Sinology cultivation.
In the Aheng incident, Sugawara Michijin sided with Emperor Uta, and has been appreciated by Emperor Uta ever since. Emperor Uta had always hoped to suppress the power of the Fujiwara family and realize the political ideal centered on the emperor, so he later relied heavily on Sugawara Michishin. And the Fujiwara family, rightfully regarded him as a powerful enemy.
In 890, Sugawara Michishin, who had ended his term as a prefect, returned to Beijing. After returning to Beijing, Sugawara Michishin, who was trusted by Emperor Uta, rose through the ranks and eventually became the Right Minister.
Moreover, Sugawara Michima also sent his eldest daughter to the palace and became Emperor Uta's concubine. Later, he married his third daughter to Emperor Uta's son, Prince Saisei, and it was the marriage of the third daughter that laid the groundwork for his future tragedy.
Mu Xiu was destroyed by Lin Feng, framed and demoted from Beijing, and ended up in exile with hatred
In July 897, Emperor Uta abdicated the throne to Prince Atsuhito (later Emperor Daigo) as Emperor Taijō.
Emperor Uda reused Sugawara Michima to fight against the Fujiwara family, so before abdicating, he admonished his son Emperor Daigo to continue to reuse Sugawara Michima.
However, many of the courtiers at that time were already dissatisfied with Sugawara Michishin's rise to prominence, but Sugawara Michijin was deeply trusted by Emperor Uta, so political enemies were never able to overthrow him.
However, the newly ascended Emperor Daigo, although he complied with Emperor Utata's request to grant him the important post of right minister, trusted his political rival Fujiwara no Tokihei even more.
Sugawara did not feel the danger, and he repeatedly asked to resign, but they were all rejected.
In 901, Fujiwara no Tokihei falsely accused Sugawara Michishin of "deceiving and confusing Emperor Uta" and "attempting to depose Emperor Daigo and let his son-in-law Prince Saisei inherit the throne", and Emperor Daigo, who believed the rumors, demoted Sugawara Michima from Beijing and exiled him to the current Dazaifu in Fukuoka Prefecture. Two years later, in 903, Sugawara Michijin died in Dazaifu and was buried there.
It is said that at that time, Emperor Uta heard about this and wanted to enter the palace to persuade Emperor Daigo, but he could not enter the palace due to the obstruction of the guards, and the Tibetan head Fujiwara Sugone did not help convey it, and Emperor Daigo did not know about Emperor Uta's entry into the palace, so he failed to save Sugawara Michima.
Tibetan head:
The head of the Tibetan Institute. The head of the Tibetan is often at the side of the emperor and is responsible for the transmission of edicts, the transmission of the chanting, etc.
Tibetans, equivalent to the secretary of the emperor, are similar to our Tang Dynasty attendants, Xilang, and Xibailang. A Tibetan center is a place for Tibetans to work.
It is regarded as the passage of the grumbling spirit
Five years after the death of Sugawara Michishin, Fujiwara no Kanone, who prevented Emperor Utata from saving Sugawara Michishin, was suddenly struck by lightning and died. Fujiwara no Kane was originally a disciple of Sugawara Michishin, but betrayed him.
The following year, another political rival, Fujiwara no Tokihei, was only 39 years old, but mysteriously fell ill and died.
Not only that, but at that time, Japan was hit by floods, droughts, and infectious diseases, so rumors began to circulate that Sugawara Province had really become a ghost.
In 923, 20 years after Sugawara Michimasa's death, Prince Homei, the crown prince of Emperor Daigo, died at the age of only 21. Prince Homei was born to Fujiwara no Tokihei's younger sister. It is believed that this is the real resentment of Sugawara Michi.
Therefore, in order to appease the resentful spirits of Sugawara Michishin, Emperor Daigo restored Sugawara Michijin to the position of right minister.
However, Prince Homyeong's son, King Keirai, who was later named the grandson of the Crown Prince, died two years later at the age of 5. Keirai's mother was the daughter of Fujiwara no Tokihei.
In June 930, when Japan was in drought, Emperor Daigo and his ministers discussed whether to hold a rain prayer ceremony in the palace's cool hall. As a result, the Qingryo Hall was struck by lightning, and many people in the hall were killed and injured, especially Fujiwara Kiyokan, who was responsible for monitoring Sugawara Michijin in Dazaifu in the past, was burned to death. Emperor Daigo witnessed the event with his own eyes, was deeply irritated, and died three months later. This incident is also seen as being caused by Sugawara Michi's true grievances. So, taking this lightning strike incident as an opportunity, Sugawara Michijin and the Fire Thunder God were associated with each other, and were later revered as a god and worshipped by the people.
Painting depicting the lightning strike of the Qingliang Temple
The transformation from a resentful spirit to a god of learning
In 942, Sugawara Michima is said to have possessed a witch named Tajibi Fumiko in the capital and strongly demanded that she be sacrificed. Therefore, the imperial court agreed to build a temple in Kyoto to worship him, which is the origin of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto.
Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is managed by the Sugawara clan, and the imperial court also used it as a shrine for worship, so incense flourished. During the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, Kitano Tenmangu Shrine often held cultural events such as singing parties, and people came to pray for the advancement of learning, and slowly the people regarded him as the god of learning.
Shrine:
Refers to a shrine attended by an envoy sent by the emperor at the time of the festival.
By the way, in addition to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, there are now about 12,000 shrines dedicated to Sugawara Michijin in Japan, and the more famous ones are Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, Osaka Tenmangu Shrine, and Yushima Tenmangu Shrine.
Kitano Tenkou Worship Hall
Osaka Tenmangu Shrine Commemorates the Akisi Festival of Sugawara Michishin
Ties with China
The Sugawara family was a middle-class aristocratic family in Japan at that time, and it still had some ties to China.
His grandfather, Sugawara Kiyoko, was a scholar and poet in the early Heian period, who came to study in the Tang Dynasty with Kukai and Mosumi, and also served as a doctor of articles.
Sugawara Michijin himself was appointed as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty. In 894, Sugawara Michijin was appointed ambassador to the Tang Dynasty, but he himself proposed to stop sending people to study in the Tang Dynasty. The reason was that the Tang Dynasty at that time had fallen into civil strife, and the situation was unstable and very dangerous. Moreover, the possibility of dying at sea is very high, and excellent people cannot be lost because of this. The imperial court accepted his advice, and the envoys to the Tang dynasty, which began in the Nara period, ended.
Sugawara Michimasa's father, Sugawara is also a scholar and has also served as a doctor of articles.
There are also many scholars who are descendants of Sugawara Michijin, the father of the author of "Higher Diary", Sugawara Takabi, is his great-great-grandson, and the author of "Higher Diary" is a woman who has not been able to leave her real name in history, so people call it Sugawara Takabiao.