2-757-823 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Shrine Maiden-Shamaness Possessed by a Spirit, from Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine (Kitano Tenjin engi emaki), ca. 1300. The ancient Shinto belief that forces of nature are animated by human spirits underlies legends of the Kitano Tenjin Shrine. Scholar-statesman Sugawara no Michizane (845-903) died in exile following slander by enemies; when natural disasters caused the deaths of his detractors, his spirit was deified as Tenjin, patron of the falsely accused. In this scene a disheveled, partially unclothed shrine maiden, possessed by Michizane’s spirit, performs an ecstatic dance.