Book excerpt: Sugawara no Michizane (845-902) was one of early Japan's most remarkable men, the best of many Heian poets who wrote in Chinese, and one of the models for the title charcter in The Tale of Genji. This multifacted study offers a well-rounded portrait of Michizane. Based on a wide range of primary sources, it reconstructs and analyzes his career, both at court and in the provinces. Included are many of Michixane's poems, translated for the first time. Winner of the 1990 American Historical Association's James Henry Breasted Prize. Richly illustrated with woodblock prints.