Back in 9th-century Japan, Sugawara no Michizane, a top scholar, got politically backstabbed and was exiled by the Fujiwara clan. After he died in 903, disaster struck Tokyo in 930 with severe storms and floods, destroying the Fujiwara properties. Coincidence? You can draw your own conclusions, but the imperial court blamed it on Michizane's vengeful spirit.

To make amends, they posthumously promoted him to a sky deity named Tenjin. And so, for centuries, folks saw Tenjin as the go-to god for dodging natural disasters. But let’s not forget, Tenjin, aka Michizane, was also the Heian period's all-around academic celebrity. Fast forward to the Edo period, and suddenly, he's the patron saint of hitting the books, a divine tutor for those navigating the treacherous waters of academia.