菅原道真大宰府行き|Sugawara Michizane Traveling to Dazaifu

Unidentified

early 17th century · Six-panel folding screen; ink and color on gold-leaf paper · Asian Art

Sugawara no Michizane (845–903) was a prominent courtier, scholar, and poet of the early Heian court who can be counted among the greatest cultural heroes of ancient Japan. His reputation was only enhanced when, after his death, it was discovered that he had been falsely accused of wrongdoing by rivals in the palace and denied promotion in the court hierarchy despite unrivaled qualifications. This screen shows Michizane after he had been demoted to a low-ranking office—a de facto exile from the court—and reassigned from Kyoto to faraway Dazaifu, on the island of Kyūshū. Tragically, after two years there, he died, having pleaded his innocence to the end.

Artist

Unidentified

Date

early 17th century

Medium

Six-panel folding screen; ink and color on gold-leaf paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2022