Dazaifu in Fukuoka served as the ancient government’s western administrative center, called the “Distant Court.” From the Heian period, it became the most famous destination for political demotion: Sugawara no Michizane (901-903, where he died) was the most famous victim of Fujiwara politics. Minamoto no Takaakira followed in 969 (Anna Incident), and Fujiwara no Korechika in 996 (Choutoku Incident). Michizane’s deification as Tenjin gave rise to Dazaifu Tenmangu, today the head shrine of some 12,000 Tenjin shrines across Japan. The ruined government office, the Enoki-sha shrine where Michizane lived, and the historic Kanzeon-ji temple (one of three ancient ordination platforms) preserve the layered memory of this borderland between exile and “demotion.”