was a scholar, poet, and politician of the

Heian Period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

of Japan. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in Kanshi poetry, and is today revered in

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

as the god of learning, . In the poem anthology ''

Hyakunin Isshu is a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanese ''waka'' by one hundred poets. ''Hyakunin isshu'' can be translated to "one hundred people, one poem ach; it can also refer to the card game of ''uta-garuta'', which uses a deck compos ...

'', he is known as , and in

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

drama he is known as .

Biography

He was born into a family of scholars, who bore the

hereditary title Hereditary titles, in a general sense, are nobility titles, positions or styles that are hereditary and thus tend or are bound to remain in particular families. Though both monarchs and nobles usually inherit their titles, the mechanisms often d ...

of which predated the

Ritsuryō , , is the historical law system based on the philosophies of Confucianism and Chinese Legalism in Japan. The political system in accord to Ritsuryō is called "Ritsuryō-sei" (律令制). ''Kyaku'' (格) are amendments of Ritsuryō, ''Shiki'' (� ...

System and its ranking of members of the Court. His grandfather, Sugawara no Kiyotomo, served the court, teaching history in the national school for future bureaucrats and even attained the third rank. His father, Sugawara no Koreyoshi, began a private school in his mansion and taught students who prepared for the entrance examination to the national school or who had ambitions to be officers of the court, including his own son Michizane. Michizane passed the entrance examination, and entered Daigaku, as the national academy was called at the time. After graduation he began his career in the court as a scholar as a relatively prestigious senior sixth rank upper in 870. His rank coincided with his role initially as a minor official in the Court bureaucracy under the

Ministry of Civil Affairs The Ministry of Civil Affairs is a ministry in the State Council of the People's Republic of China, responsible for social and administrative affairs. It was founded in May 1978, and the current Minister is Tang Dengjie. Its precedent was the Mini ...

. By 874 Michizane had reached the fifth rank (his father the fourth rank), and served briefly under the Ministry of War before being transferred to a more desirable role in the

Ministry of Popular Affairs The may refer to: # one of the of the Japanese imperial court, established by the Taihō Code of the early 8th century, and continued under the Ritsuryō legal system. # A short-lived ministry during the Meiji period (August–September 1869, A ...

. His training and skill with

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning "literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning "literar ...

language and literature afforded him many opportunities to draft edicts and correspondences for officials in the Court in addition to his menial duties. Records show at this time he composed three petitions for

Fujiwara no Yoshifusa , also known as ''Somedono no Daijin'' or ''Shirakawa-dono'', was a Japanese people, Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Nakahira" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1 ...

as well as the Emperor. Michizane also took part in receiving delegations from the Kingdom of

Parhae Balhae ( ko, 발해, zh, c=渤海, p=Bóhǎi, russian: Бохай, translit=Bokhay, ), also rendered as Bohai, was a multi-ethnic kingdom whose land extends to what is today Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East. It wa ...

, where Michizane's skill with Chinese again proved useful in diplomatic exchanges and poetry exchange. In 877, he was assigned to the Ministry of the Ceremonial, which allowed him to manage educational and intellectual matters more than before. In addition to his offices at the court he ran the school his father founded, the . In 877, he was also promoted to professor of literature at the academy, Later, he was also appointed the highest professorial office at Daigaku. This office was considered to be the highest honor a historian could achieve.

Early career

In 886, Sugawara was appointed to be governor of

Sanuki Province was a province of Japan in the area of northeastern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Sanuki''" in . Sanuki bordered on Awa to the south, and Iyo to the west. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō system, ...

. Modern research shows that many bureaucrats in the Court, if they lacked sufficient clout, were assigned at least one term in a remote province, and Michizane was no exception. During his four-year tenure in the province, Michizane's informal poetry increased, and up to 26% of his poetry still extant was composed in this narrow time. Among his duties, based on limited records, was to tour the province, recommend outstanding individuals to the Court, and to punish as needed. In 887, Michizane had to petition the Buddhas and the Shinto

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

to help relieve a drought at the time. Records of the time imply that Michizane's time as governor had met with only middling success.

Conflict with Fujiwara clan

While serving as governor, a political conflict arose between

Emperor Uda was the 59th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 宇多天皇 (59)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Uda's reign spanned the years from 887 through 897. Traditional narrative Name and legacy Befo ...

and

Fujiwara no Mototsune , also known as , was a Japanese statesman, courtier and aristocrat of the early Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Mototsune" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1915). He was the first '' kampaku'', a regent of an adult ...

called the in 888 over Mototsune's unclear role in the Court after Emperor Uda's ascension. Michizane, defending the court scholars sent a letter of censure to Mototsune, and gained the favor of Emperor Uda. With his term as governor completed in 890, Michizane returned to the Court in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. In Emperor Uda's struggles to restore power to the Imperial Family, away from the Fujiwara, a number of officials from non-Fujiwara families were promoted to key positions, including Imperial offshoots in the

Minamoto was one of the surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan upon members of the imperial family who were excluded from the line of succession and demoted into the ranks of the nobility from 1192 to 1333. The practice was most prevalent during th ...

family and Sugawara no Michizane. In a rapid series of promotions beginning in 891, Michizane rose to the senior third rank in 897. According to one document signed by Michizane in 894, he already held the following posts in the Court: * Ambassador to the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. * Consultant * Assistant Investigator of the Records of Outgoing Officials * Junior Fourth Rank Lower * Major Controller of the Left * Supernumerary Senior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial * Assistant Master of the Crown Prince's Household (later

Emperor Daigo was the 60th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 醍醐天皇 (60)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Daigo's reign spanned the years from 897 through 930. He is named after his place of burial. G ...

) He was appointed ambassador to China in the 890s, but instead came out in support of abolition of the

imperial embassies to China The Japanese missions to Imperial China were diplomatic embassies which were intermittently sent to the Chinese imperial court. Any distinction amongst diplomatic envoys sent from the Japanese court or from any of the Japanese shogunates was lost ...

in 894, theoretically in consideration for the decline of the

. A potential ulterior motive may have lain in Michizane's almost complete ignorance of spoken Chinese; most literate Japanese at the time only read Chinese, and knew little to nothing about the spoken language. Michizane, as the nominated ambassador to China, would have been presented with a potential loss of face had he been forced to depend on an interpreter. Thus, Emperor Uda stopped the practice of sending ambassadors as informed by what he understood as persuasive counsel from Sugawara Michizane. Within the abdication of Emperor Uda, Michizane's position became increasingly vulnerable. In 901, through the political maneuverings of his rival,

Fujiwara no Tokihira was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Tokihira" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1915). Career Tokihira was a minister under Emperor Daigo. * 891 ('' Kanpy� ...

, who accused him of favouring Prince Tokiyo over the crown prince as the main successor to the emperor's throne, Michizane was demoted from his aristocratic rank of junior second to a minor official post at Dazaifu, in

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

Chikuzen Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today part of Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyūshū. It was sometimes called or , with Chikugo Province. Chikuzen bordered Buzen, Bungo, Chikugo, and Hizen Provinces. History The original provincial ...

where he and his entire family was banished. He died in exile in 903.

Pacification and deification

After Michizane's death,

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

and

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

spread and sons of

died in succession. The Imperial Palace's Great Audience Hall (''shishinden'') was struck repeatedly by lightning, and the city experienced weeks of rainstorms and floods. Attributing this to the angry spirit of the exiled Sugawara, the imperial court built a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

called

Kitano Tenman-gū is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

in Kyoto, and dedicated it to him. They posthumously restored his title and office, and struck from the record any mention of his exile. Even this was not enough, and 70 years later Sugawara was deified as Tenjin-sama, a god of sky and storms. Eventually Tenjin evolved into a benign ''

'' of scholarship. Today many Shinto shrines in Japan are dedicated to him. He became the most notable example of an interesting spiritual transformation: a vengeful Japanese spirit,

onryō In Japanese traditional beliefs and literature, are a type of ghost () believed to be capable of causing harm in the world of the living, injuring or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact vengeance to "redress" the wron ...

, is a violent ghost, usually a former aristocrat who was wrongfully killed, and consequently seeking revenge. When well supplicated, however, onryō spirits may willingly convert to goryō, benevolent spirits who can be powerful allies.

Poetry

Michizane had an exceptional talent in poetry both for '' kanshi'' (poetry in Chinese) and ''

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

'' (poetry in Japanese). His primary interest was ''kanshi'', because in those days the immersion in the Chinese culture was regarded as a proof of refinement and scholarship. Since his excellence in ''kanshi'' was well known throughout the Court,

suggested him to compile his Chinese poems, and therefore he published and dedicated it to the emperor in 900. After his exile he continued to work on ''kanshi'' and compiled them into the .Keene 1999 : 197. The work contained 46 ''kanshi'', was completed sometime before his death in 903.''Digital Daijisen'' entry "Kanke Kōshū". Shogakukan. He sent it to right before his death. One of his poems was included in

Fujiwara no Teika , better-known as Fujiwara no Teika"Sadaie" and "Teika" are both possible readings of ; "...there is the further problem, the rendition of the name in romanized form. Teika probably referred to himself as Sadaie, and his father probably called ...

's ''

Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanese ''waka'' by one hundred poets. ''Hyakunin isshu'' can be translated to "one hundred people, one poem ach; it can also refer to the card game of ''uta-garuta'', which uses a deck compos ...

'': The poem was originally the 420th of the ''

Kokin Wakashū The , commonly abbreviated as , is an early anthology of the '' waka'' form of Japanese poetry, dating from the Heian period. An imperial anthology, it was conceived by Emperor Uda () and published by order of his son Emperor Daigo () in abo ...

''.

Another of his famous waka is a poem written in 901 just before he left Kyoto for Daizaifu by demotion. He felt deep sorrow that he would never see his precious plum tree in his residence in Kyoto again, so he talked endearingly to it: ''Nioi okose yo'' can be interpreted as "spread your scent" rather than "flourish in full bloom", although such a usage of the word ''nioi'' as "scent" or "smell" is relatively modern and rare in the classical period. The above is from the 1006th poem of the ''

Shūi Wakashū The , often abbreviated as ''Shūishū'', is the third imperial anthology of waka from Heian period Japan. It was compiled by Emperor Kazan in about 1005.Keene 1999 : 283 Its twenty volumes contain 1,351 poems. The details of its publication an ...

''; although this is the original form of this poem, when re-collected later in '' Hōbutsushū'', the last phrase was modified into ''haru na wasure so'' (meaning remains unchanged), which became its popular variation. A romantic legend says the plum tree was so fond of its master that it finally flew to Dazaifu, and that tree became known as at

Dazaifu Tenman-gū Dazaifu may refer to: * Dazaifu, Fukuoka, a city in northern Kyūshū * Dazaifu (government) The is a Japanese term for the regional government in Kyushu from the 8th to the 12th centuries. The name may also refer to the seat of government which ...

(a shrine dedicated to its master). A more realistic legend says Michizane or his friend transplanted its seedling to Dazaifu. Michizane is traditionally credited with the ''

Shinsen Man'yōshū The , also called the ,''Britannica Kokusai Dai-hyakkajiten'' article "Shinsen Man'yōshū". 2007. Britannica Japan Co.'' MyPedia'' article "Shinsen Man'yōshū". 2007. Hitachi Systems & Services.''Digital Daijisen'' entry "Shinsen Man'yōshū". ...

'', but the attribution has been challenged.Keene 1999 : 239, note 15.

Honours

Senior First Rank The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the state. ''Ikai'' as a system was originally used in the Ritsuryo system, which was the politi ...

(June 12, 993; posthumous)

Descendants

The lineage of the Sugawara clan was divided into six families by the 18th century. Aside from these noble families, there are several (often self-proclaimed) branches in the

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

caste, including Maeda and Yagyū. * Sugawara no Takasue (972–?) – an aristocrat, Michizane's great-grandson **

Takasue's daughter , also known as Takasue's Daughter, was a Japanese noble woman, poet, and author best known for writing the ''Sarashina Nikki,'' a Heian period travel diary recording her life and travels from her teenage years to her fifties. She is also attribu ...

(c.1008 – after 1059) – a female writer known for '' Sarashina Nikki'' * Aristocratic families (Takatsuji, Gojō, Higashibōjō, Karahashi, Kiyooka, and Kuwabara) **

Takako Irie was a Japanese film actress. Born in Tokyo into the aristocratic Higashibōjō family (her birth name was ), she graduated from Bunka Gakuin before debuting as an actress at Nikkatsu in 1927. She became a major star, even starting her own produ ...

(1911–1995) – an actress, a daughter of Viscount Yoshinaka Higashibōjō. *

Maeda clan was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan of Sugawara no Kiyotomo and Sugaw ...

Maeda Toshiie was one of the leading generals of Oda Nobunaga following the Sengoku period of the 16th century extending to the Azuchi–Momoyama period. His preferred weapon was a yari and he was known as "Yari no Mataza" (槍の又左), Matazaemon (又� ...

(1538–1599) – a daimyō lord. Toshiie self-proclaimed to be a descendant of Michizane and after decades the Tokugawa shogunate officially recognized his claim in '' Kan'ei Shoka Keizu Den'' (1643), but its historicity is highly dubious *

Yagyū clan The were a family of ''daimyōs'' (feudal lords) with lands just outside Nara, who became the heads of one of Japan's greatest schools of swordsmanship, Yagyū Shinkage-ryū. The Yagyū were also Kenjutsu teachers to the Tokugawa shōguns and des ...

– self-proclaimed to be a descendant of an officer called Sugawara no Nagayoshi

Heibonsha World Encyclopedia The is one of Japan's two major encyclopedias, the other being the ''Encyclopedia Nipponica''. The ''World Encyclopedia'' is widely held to be the most complete and up-to-date encyclopedia in the Japanese language. Formats The Heibonsha ''World ...

, revised edition, 6th printing (2014), 柳生氏 **

Yagyū Munetoshi Yagyū Sekishūsai Taira-no-Munetoshi (柳生石舟斎平宗厳 1529 – May 25, 1606) was a samurai in Japan's Sengoku period famous for mastering the Shinkage-ryū school of combat, and introducing it to the Tokugawa clan. He was also kno ...

(1529–1606) – the founder of

Yagyū Shinkage-ryū is one of the oldest Japanese schools of swordsmanship (''kenjutsu''). Its primary founder was Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, who called the school Shinkage-ryū. In 1565, Nobutsuna bequeathed the school to his greatest student, Yagyū Munetoshi, who a ...

(a school of swordsmanship) ***

Yagyū Munenori was a Japanese daimyo, swordsman, and martial arts writer, founder of the Edo branch of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū, which he learned from his father Yagyū "Sekishūsai" Muneyoshi. This was one of two official sword styles patronized by the Tokugaw ...

(1571–1646) – the head sword instructor of Tokugawa shōguns, author of ''

A Hereditary Book on the Art of War ''A Hereditary Book on the Art of War'' or ''Heihō kadensho'' (兵法家伝書), is a Japanese text on the theory and practice of swordsmanship and strategy, written by the samurai Yagyū Munenori in 1632. Alongside Miyamoto Musashi's ''The Book o ...

Footnotes

Explanatory notes

Citations

Bibliography

*Robert Borgen (1994). ''Sugawara no Michizane and the Early Heian Court''. University of Hawaii Press * *McMillan, Peter 2010 (1st ed. 2008). ''One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each''. New York: Columbia University Press. *Suzuki Hideo, Yamaguchi Shin'ichi, Yoda Yasushi 2009 (1st ed. 1997). ''Genshoku: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu''. Tokyo: Bun'eidō.