The Story of Sugawara no Michizane (Kitano Tenjin Emaki Dankan)

Arts of Asia

14th century

Unknown Artist
Japanese, active in 14th century

Sugawara no Michizane (845–903) was a minister at the emperor’s court who refused to travel to China as an ambassador—and so he was banished to Kyūshū, where he perished. According to legend, his spirit began exacting revenge for his death. He was only placated when he was honored as the deity Tenjin and became the god of learning. This fragment of a narrative handscroll joins a text and illustration from different parts of the legend. The drawing probably shows an early scene, in which a household servant laments Michizane’s imminent banishment. The text describes a later part of the story, after he has become revered as Tenjin.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Asia

Artist: Unknown Artist
Title: The Story of Sugawara no Michizane (Kitano Tenjin Emaki Dankan)
Place: Japan (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1301–1400
Medium: Handscroll; ink on paper
Dimensions: L: 28 3/4" H: 10 7/8"
Credit Line: Gift of Robert Allerton
Reference Number: 1957.531
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/6732/manifest.json

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The Story of Sugawara no Michizane (Kitano Tenjin Emaki Dankan)

Currently Off View

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Artist:

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.