Courtiers Visit Sugawara no Michizane’s Mortuary Temple, from Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine

Courtiers Visit Sugawara no Michizane’s Mortuary Temple, from Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

An ancient Shinto belief that calamitous forces of nature are animated by vengeful human spirits underlies the legendary origin of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine (Kitano Tenmangū) in Kyoto. It is dedicated to the worship of the deified spirit of Sugawara no Michizane (845–903), a distinguished scholar and statesman who died in exile after having been slandered by his enemies at court. When natural disasters and plagues caused the deaths of his detractors, Michizane was posthumously elevated to high office to appease his spirit’s unresolved anger. In this scene from a larger set of scrolls narrating the Kitano Tenjin Shrine’s establishment and early legends, an imperial messenger and two courtiers arrive at Anrakuji, Michizane’s mortuary temple, to read the emperor’s edict promoting him.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Courtiers Visit Sugawara no Michizane’s Mortuary Temple, from Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin ShrineCourtiers Visit Sugawara no Michizane’s Mortuary Temple, from Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin ShrineCourtiers Visit Sugawara no Michizane’s Mortuary Temple, from Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin ShrineCourtiers Visit Sugawara no Michizane’s Mortuary Temple, from Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin ShrineCourtiers Visit Sugawara no Michizane’s Mortuary Temple, from Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine

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