Following Sugawara no Michizane ‘s death in 903 (Engi 3) in Daizaifu (then-administrative capital primarily of Kyūshū, corresponding to modern-day Fukuoka), Chikuzen Province, to which he had been ignominiously transferred, Kyōto experienced a succession of natural calamities such as lightning strikes that were said to be the retribution of Michizane. In 942 (Tengyō 5), a woman named Tajihi no Ayako claimed to have received a divine message from Michizane. This oracle among others led in 947 (Tenryaku 1) to the enshrinement of Michizane at Kitano, thus marking the origins of this shrine.