Today, Minister Michizane is known as the god of learning, but in the Heian Period, he was known as the fearsome god of thunder. Blessed with a brilliant brain from childhood, the Imperial Court greatly valued Michizane, and he achieved an unprecedented rise to the powerful position of the Minister of the Right (Junior Minister of State). However, he had his enemies too, who were envious of his position, such as Fujiwara-no-Tokihira, the most powerful man of influence of his time, and Michizane was relegated to the government office known as Dazaifu in Kyushu. Shortly thereafter, he fell into despair and passed away. There was a series of accidents in Kyoto after Michizane died, causing the deaths, one after another, of those who participated in the conspiracy to banish him, including Fujiwara-no-Tokihira. Lightning even hit Seiryoden, the Imperial residence, killing a large number of people. Later, the shock of these events led to the death of the Emperor Daigo. Many people came to believe these events were due to the vengeful ghost of Michizane, and that Michizane was actually the god of thunder and bad weather, Tenjin (also known as Raijin). In time, many worshiped him as one of the deities charged with the protection of the country. This is one of the origins of the Kitano-Tenmangu Shrine, showing the connection between the death of Michizane and the god of thunder, one element in the beliefs of citizens of the country. It is interesting to note that many Japanese repeat the words "Kuwabara, kuwabara" at the sound of thunder, believing it will protect them from lightning - it is said that this superstition arose because people believed lightning had never once struck Kuwabara, the location of the Michizane family residence.