TALES FROM HISTORY
Sugawara no Michizane — Japan’s Three Most Infamous Vengeful Ghosts, part 3
Poet, Scholar, Vengeful Ghost, God of Learning — Michizane is Remarkable!
Japan loves threes. Three Great Beautiful Places. Three Great Night Views. Three Great Mountains. In this three article series, I introduce you to Japan’s Three Great Vengeful Ghosts.
Sugawara no Michizane is my favorite of Japan’s three most vengeful ghosts. He was the most noble, then the most frightening, and today, he is the most honored.
Vengeful Ghost #3 — Sugawara no Michizane
Sugawara no Michizane was born into a family of mid-level aristocrats in Kyoto in 845. Both his grandfather and his father were scholars of classical Chinese literature and history, taught at the Kyoto school of higher learning, and were private tutors to emperors. Michizane was destined to surpass them.
He began reading classical Chinese poetry at age five and composed his first poem at the age of eleven. As a child, Michizane could often be found in the garden of his father’s estate, gazing at the plum trees and admiring their ephemeral, delicate blossoms while he composed poetry, a habit he continued throughout his life. Michizane…
