At Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, golden lanterns were hung along the walls

Golden lanterns at Kitano Tenmangu Shrine

Tenmangu Shrine in Kitano, Kyoto is one of the three major Tenmangu shrines in Japan, and has a long history. Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, along with Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, is the center of the Tenjin faith. There are many Tenmangu shrines enshrining Sugawara no Michizane all over Japan, but most of them are disenshrined from either Kitano Tenmangu or Dazaifu Tenmangu. In other words, Kitano Tenmangu and Dazaifu Tenmangu are the originators of the Tenjin faith.

The reason why Sugawara no Michizane came to be enshrined as a god was because he was transferred to Dazaifu, far away from Kyoto, and died there. After his death, Kyoto was plagued by epidemics and abnormal weather conditions, which were believed to be caused by Sugawara no Michizane's haunting, and so the shrine came to be enshrined to appease his spirit.

The point here is not whether the actual cause was a haunting or not, but the fact that people at the time felt that it must have been caused by Sugawara no Michizane. In other words, before his death, Sugawara no Michizane was treated in such a neglectful manner that it would not be surprising if he was cursed. A similar situation is occurring even now in the 21st century. This is the case with people who believe false rumors circulated at the time of a disaster, such as that people from some other country will do something bad to get back at them. I suspect that such people usually treat people from other countries in such a way that it is no wonder that they get angry.

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