Sugawara no Michizane Being Exiled to Dazaifu

Unidentified

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 226

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.

Sugawara no Michizane Being Exiled to Dazaifu, Unidentified Artist, Six-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, Japan

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Sugawara no Michizane Being Exiled to Dazaifu, Unidentified Artist, Six-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, Japan
Sugawara no Michizane Being Exiled to Dazaifu, Unidentified Artist, Six-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, Japan
Sugawara no Michizane Being Exiled to Dazaifu, Unidentified Artist, Six-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, Japan
Sugawara no Michizane Being Exiled to Dazaifu, Unidentified Artist, Six-panel folding screen; ink, color, and gold leaf on paper, Japan

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