Key Points

- God of Academics, Wisdom and Learning

- Exiled as a mortal by a competing clan

- When lightening struck the capital city killing many, the emporer declared Sugawara had risen to kami status

Brief Bio 

In the Shinto religion of Japan, Tenjin (天神), also called Tenman Daijizai Tenjin (天満大自在天神), is the patron kami (deity) of academics, scholarship, of learning, and of the intelligentsia.

Tenjin is the deification of Sugawara no Michizane (845–903), the famous scholar, poet and politician of the Heian period.

Ten (天) means sky or heaven, and jin (神) means god or deity. The original meaning of Tenjin, sky deity, is almost the same as that of Raijin (a god of thunder).

In Japanese history, Sugawara no Michizane rose high in the government of the country in the late 9th century, but at the beginning of the 10th century, he fell victim to the plots of a rival, a member of the Fujiwara clan, and was demoted and exiled to Kyushu. He died in exile in 903. 

On July 21, 930, the capital city was struck by heavy rain and lightning, and many of the leading Fujiwara died, while fires caused by lightning and floods destroyed many of their residences. The court of the Emperor drew the conclusion that the disturbances were caused by Michizane's onryō (怨霊, vengeful spirit), and, to placate it, the Emperor restored all Michizane's offices, burned the official order of exile, and ordered that the poet be worshiped under the name Tenjin, which means sky deity. A shrine was established at Kitano; it was the first rank of official shrines, supported directly by the government.