Feature Exhibition Room #1 :Tenjin- The God of Scholarship

Sugawara no Michizane (845-903 CE) was a very capable scholar and a politician in the middle of the Heian period. He was well-known for his misfortune of having been transferred to Fukuoka from his native town Kyoto. It resulted from his defeat over a political dispute with Mr. Fujiwara, his enemy.

His life ended in distress for he couldn’t make it to his beloved Kyoto again. After he departed, many disasters have happened in Kyoto area. That led people to believe that Michizane has turned into an angry spirit and caused those disasters.
Eventually, people’s perception about him has changed and he was later considered as the divinity of education and literature.

 His shrine of dwelling is called “Tenmangu”, and many subsidiary Tenmangu shrines have been built in every part of Japan over the years.  Many picture scrolls like “Tenjin Engi”, which depicts a story of Michizane’s life and his portraits as a divinity, were created in the aim of passing down his legend to the future generations.

“Tenjin Goengi”

There is a district in central part of Fukuoka, called Tenjin. It was named after a legend called “water mirror”. It explains that Michizane, whose divine name is “Tenjin” saw his reflection on the water in that area.

Sukyo-tenmangu Shrine (Water Mirror Shrine)

This exhibition features the worship of Tenjin and introduces many objects relating to Sugawara no Michizane himself.

Posted by Takamura