[Revisiting Japanese History] The 'Joy of Knowing' Discovered in Adulthood—Sugawara no Michizane and Osaka Tenmangu

Revisiting Japanese History

"I was born in Japan and must have studied Japanese history in school, yet I knew nothing."

I realized this only after becoming an adult.

During my student days, history lessons just went in one ear and out the other.

In fact, I don't even remember studying it hard at all.

I, who didn't even bother to follow the words in the textbook, am now completely immersed in the fascination of Japanese history.

There were several triggers for this, but one of them was my encounter with Sugawara no Michizane.

The 'Dolls' of Osaka Tenmangu

It happened a few years ago while I was studying for a certification exam.

My feet stopped at Osaka Tenmangu, which I had visited to pray for success.

For me, as someone born in Osaka, it was the familiar 'Tenma no Tenjin-san' I had known since childhood.

At the time, my image of Michizane was just a vague one: 'some great scholar who was exiled to Kyushu.'

However, the Hakata dolls displayed in the 'Kanke Roka' (Sugawara House Corridor) on the shrine grounds vividly shattered my ignorance.

The life of Michizane was recreated there like a diorama.

A sudden turn from a brilliant career to being falsely accused, separated from his family, and exiled to Dazaifu.

Such a turbulent story was vividly depicted through the dolls.

Not being well-versed in Japanese history, I was simply overwhelmed by the intensity of it.

"Wait, this man lived a life like this?"

It was the moment when the 'passion' of a man, which never came through the words in a textbook, was transmitted directly through the dolls.

The Truth About the Tenjin Matsuri

When I became curious and started researching it, it was a series of 'eye-opening' moments.

The biggest shock was the 'Tenjin Matsuri,' a summer tradition in Osaka.

I didn't even know the basic fact that the lively festival I had enjoyed as a matter of course since childhood was actually a ritual of repose held on the anniversary of Sugawara no Michizane's death.

I knew nothing about such basic things.

The reason why Osaka Tenmangu stands in this location was also tied to the legend that Michizane prayed for a safe journey here on his way to Dazaifu.

The scenery that had been 'just a view' until now instantly transformed into a 'story' with blood running through it.

This feeling was a pleasure that nothing else could replace.

Why Fireworks Still Go Off

Those spectacular 'dedication fireworks' that color the climax of the Tenjin Matsuri.

Why does such a flashy performance for the god of learning continue even today?

Behind it was the fervent love and prayer of the people of Osaka in the past, who tried to turn Michizane's immense energy into a 'force to revitalize the city.'

The image I had arbitrarily held of a 'scholar who died quietly' was vividly repainted by the 'flashy and lively hospitality' that has been passed down in the city of Osaka for hundreds of years.

The Chain of 'Knowing' Never Stops

Learning about Michizane's life changed the way I see the world a little.

Once you know one thing, the dots connect and become a line.

As the lines increase, the names of stone monuments and shrines on street corners that I had overlooked until now suddenly start to speak with meaning.

There were many other similar 'eye-opening' events.

Learning as an adult has a 'sense of conviction' and 'joy of discovery' that rote memorization for exams never had.

The exhilaration of the moment when intellectual curiosity is satisfied, which I could never have imagined when I hated studying.

Being able to know that is a great asset to me.

The Thoughts I Entrusted to the 'Fireworks'

If I were to write the story of Michizane, I would definitely want to depict the fireworks of the Tenjin Matsuri in the final climax.

Instead of a textbook-style conclusion that 'as the god of learning, many people still visit Dazaifu,' I wanted to project my own learning experience onto the image of those flashy fireworks.

Michizane, who was exiled and lived in solitude.

A thousand years later, he is filling the night sky of a big city with light that is this flashy, beautiful, and powerful.

That overwhelming spectacle was the very shock of the moment when a fire called the joy of knowing was lit in the darkness of my 'knowing nothing.'

Japanese history is so interesting.

I want to continue to carefully explore the scenery that I can see now that I am an adult, one by one.

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