Sugawara no Michizane and the Early Heian Court

Robert Borgen

Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986 [pbk. ed. 1994]; Pages: xxiii, 432

Although Sugawara no Michizane and the Early Heian Court is most certainly a scholarly work, scrupulously annotated, with an extensive bibliography, and even with an introductory update that takes stock of recent research published after the original edition of the book, Professor Borgen's book should serve as a useful introduction to the relatively neglected (in comparison with the classical 10th century) early Heian period of Japan.

Ostensibly a biography of Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), Borgen's study is a much more ambitious cultural and political history of Japan during the period under study. In order to make the life, accomplishments, and demise of his central character understandable, the author goes to great lengths to provide appropriate context, through which much can be learned about Japan's struggles with Chinese models in education and administration, the gradual decline of the Chinese-style bureaucracy, and the rise of native Japanese aristocracy, of which the Fujiwara came to wield dizzying power during the classical period.

Michizane, whose name will be familiar to all readers interested in Japanese history, poetry, or religion, was indeed a remarkable person, whose achievements cannot be wholly attributed to the legends that grew following his deification. Born to a minor aristocratic family that had only recently acquired the surname Sugawara, Michizane followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather to become a well educated scholar, and a professor of literature at the university in Heian. This would not have been that memorable had it not been for Michizane's literary skills, that found expression in his extremely erudite poetry in Chinese. He was praised by his contemporaries, and his skills caught the attention of the new Emperor Uda, who contrived to use his abilities in his political struggle with the Fujiwara. This patronage led to a unprecedented career, with Michizane finally acquiring the post of Minister of the Right, with junior second rank, a promotion unheard of for a man of his background. It was this exalted position that finally led to his downfall through intrigues of his enemies at court, which the now retired emperor could not prevent. Michizane ended his days in miserable exile, much like many of the Chinese poets he admired. When several calamities befell on the court after his death, they were attributed to his angry spirit. Slowly, a cult grew around his name, and the court, whose guilty conscience can scarcely be denied, eventually granted recognition to his deification. Even today, Tenjin is one of the most popular Shinto cults in Japan.

Although the story of Michizane's life is worth recording and studying, it is in the contextual detail, which Borgen supplies, that this book's enduring value will be found. For example, the study of the University as an institution is particularly intriguing, both as an example of what was valued as education, and as the flawed implementation of a system that would prepare the future members of what was supposed to be the Chinese T'ang ideal of meritocratic bureaucracy. Still working in Michizane's days, the system would soon fall in disrepair as the Fujiwara assumed full control through marriage ties.

There is also a much-needed study of Japan's foreign relations, especially with the Korean kingdom of Parhae (with whose missions Michizane dealt). Chinese influence on Japan is profound, yet there never has been a wholly satisfactory explanation of why the Japanese court decided to stop sending diplomatic missions to the T'ang. (Ironically, it was the Sinophile Michizane that may have been responsible for the cancellation of what turned out to be the last such mission for centuries.) Borgen argues quite convincingly that it was not a matter of the Japanese finally feeling ready to "overthrow" this influence in favor of native cultural advances, but rather that it was a combination of economic (commerce went on without the missions which were quite expensive), cultural (much of what could be had, the Japanese could gain from Parhae), and political (the dangers of the journey and the decline of the T'ang dynasty) factors that resulted in the cancellation of the mission.

Borgen supplies many translations of the more famous poems by Michizane, which regrettably will not have much appeal for the modern reader as poetry, but which have quite a bit to say about the times they were written. Embodying a curious mix of Confucian values interspersed with native Shinto beliefs and esoteric Buddhism, the poetry is difficult to read without extensive explanations. The recondite and allusive style, which must have been much appreciated in its time, has now become rather wooden, at least in English translation. Compared to the Chinese masters that he sought to emulate, Michizane's poems seem a bit dry to me.

February 19, 2002

@book{borgen-86,
  title     = {Sugawara no Michizane and the Early Heian Court},
  author    = {Robert Borgen},
  year      = {1986},
  publisher = {University of Hawaii Press},
  address   = {Honolulu},
  isbn      = {0-8248-1590-4 (pbk.)},
  note      = {Notes, glossary, index; Pp. xxiii, 432}
}