LITMIR.BIZ

      Claim to Fame:

      A serious political operator turned angry ghost, hell-bent on avenging his mistreatment at the hands of the Imperial family.

      In life, Michizane was a highly intelligent, artistically inclined scholar. (According to one account, he once wrote twenty complete poems on twenty entirely different subjects while eating supper.) Quickly rising through the ranks, he attracted the attention of then- Emperor Uda, giving his career a serious boost. Before long, he had climbed the ladder almost as far as a bureaucrat could climb, attaining influential positions including Udaijin (“Minister of the Right,” essentially a Secretary of State), ambassador to T’ang era China, and Assistant Master of the Crown Prince’s Household, among others. But while his future seemed assured, in reality storm clouds were brewing on the horizon.

      The Michizane Incident

      The imperial court burned many official records concerning Michizane in an attempt to obscure the connection to his furious spirit. The details of what came many years later to be known as the “Michizane Incident” must necessarily be pieced together from a variety of secondhand accounts.

      Overwhelmed by his responsibilities, Uda abdicated the throne in 897, stripping Michizane of his former influence. Far less qualified people from families better connected to the new emperor were promoted, while the talented and loyal Michizane slid into undeserved irrelevance. Demoted, slandered, and accused of crimes he didn’t commit, Michizane was banished to distant Kyushu in 901.

      Michizane soldiered on and continued to compose poetry, but had been reduced to abject poverty. He succumbed to malnutrition in the early spring of 903. Upon hearing word of his demise, his rivals must have patted themselves on the back for a job well done. Only Michizane wasn’t done. The attacks began that very year.

      The Attacks

      A partial list of tatari (attacks) officially attributed to Michizane, by year

      903 TORRENTIAL RAINS ALL YEAR LONG

      905 DROUGHT

      906 FLOODS

      907 BAD FLOODS

      910 TERRIBLE FLOODS

      911 FLOODS OF THE SORT THAT SWALLOW ENTIRE VILLAGES

      912 LARGE FIRE IN HEIANKYO

      913 DEATH OF MICHIZANE’S RIVAL

      914 MORE FIRES IN HEIANKYO

      915 OUTBREAK OF CHICKEN POX

      918 FLOODS SO HORRIFIC WE HAD BEST NOT SAY ANY MORE

      922 WHOOPING COUGH OUTBREAK

      923 UNTIMELY DEATH OF EMPEROR’S SON, THE CROWN PRINCE, AT AGE 21

      925 UNTIMELY DEATH OF LATE CROWN PRINCE’S INFANT SON

      930 BOLT OF LIGHTING FALLS WITHIN PALACE WALLS, KILLING NUMEROUS IMPERIAL OFFICIALS. EMPEROR DAIGO COLLAPSES FROM SHOCK. DIES THREE MONTHS LATER.

      Surviving An Encounter

      Ever read the Bible? Remember the bit about the plagues Moses’ God brought down upon the Egyptians? Similar thing here. You are in serious trouble. There is nothing the average individual can do to stem the mayhem, other than packing their bags and leaving town at the first hint of bad weather or outbreak of illness. Not exactly a realistic option.

      If you happen to be the Emperor of Japan, on the other hand, it’s another story. Appeasing a spirit of this magnitude requires major — almost infrastructural — measures. In this particular case, defusing the spirit’s fury required the Imperial court not only to posthumously reinstate Michizane’s former titles, but to underwrite the construction of an opulent memorial to his memory: the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine.

      Note that this wasn’t an exorcism — Michizane was far too powerful for that; remember the lightning bolts crashing down inside the palace walls? Rather, it was an extravagant show of respect, the closest thing to an official apology the Imperial court could muster. The successful effort formed the cornerstone of what could be called “onryo appeasement strategy” for centuries thereafter: venerating those the Emperor had wronged by elevating them to the status of gods.

      Today, Michizane is better known as Tenjin, the Shinto deity of scholarship. So forget about surviving — a modern-day encounter with Michizane is all about passing. Passing your big test, that is. Millions visit his shrine annually for a leg up on their examinations. So stop worrying about ghost attacks and crack those books! Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine is located just 30 minutes from the city of Fukuoka by train; the nearest station is “Nishitetsu Dazaifu.”

      Know Your Onryo