Source: Ehon Sugawara jikki (1842 edition); text and illustration by Kose Hidenobu

In 888, while Michizane was the Governor of Sanuki Province, there was a severe drought. Michizane first performed Buddhist rituals and wrote Chinese poems in an attempt to bring the rain back. The following excerpt is from Michizane's introduction to a poem on the subject :

"I made offerings of fragrant oil to all the temples and proclaimed that the practice should continue on to later generations. Last year, I repeated this rite. I must do as i vowed, but this year, since spring, there has been no rain and by summer, not even a cloud....Gods and men are no longer in accord. Human hearts and natural phenomena are no longer in harmony. It is not that the Buddha's power is inadequate, but rather than men lack faith. Accordingly I write this poem to express my grief."

The poem itself contains the following lines:

"First I prayed that our nation's quarrels should forever cease.
Then I begged that my province should produce a bountiful harvest this year.
Having come here and made my vow,
I hoped my rite would be continued by later generations.
How could I have anticipated that this year no rain would fall?
Because of what wrong have the clouds over this province grown dry?
In spring, the wind blew around the mountains and the clouds settled in the valleys.
But summer days have burned like fire and fields grow only smoke.
A greedy poison-dragon has begrudged sending the divine downpour.
An evil demon has altogether stopped the flow of the benevolent spring.
The shrine priests are exhausted from running about distributing offerings.
The monks in meditation weary of sitting and reciting sutras....
I know that everywhere the earth burns and the young sprouts are scorched.
We have exhausted our accumulated good fortune and must seek the sweet tree of immortality.**
We have sincerely performed all the rites and must wait for the harvest of the fields of blessedness.
Please do not laugh at the impotence of the exalted rituals.
I am ashamed of my administration's many errors.

While in confusion I wonder how to control the reins, the exhausted horse collapses.
As I clumsily try to adjust the fire, the small fish I am cooking crumbles to pieces.

** to eat the fruit of the sweet tree guaranteed eternal life; the fields of blessedness are the good deeds that are supposed to yield good fortune

When his prayers to the Buddhas failed, Michizane addressed a prayer directly to the kami of Fortress Mountain (Kiyama), at the top of which a local shrine was located. This prayer was apparently more successful and rain is said to have fallen the next day. The picture above is supposed to portray Michizane's successful prayer to the kami. It seems likely that this incident was one reason that Michizane initially was associated with the kami of thunder and lightning.

[Translations and information from Robert Borgen, Sugwara no Michizane and the Early Heian Court, pp. 164-5]