ABE NO SEIMEI 安倍晴明
Pronunciation: AH-beh no SAY-meh
Also known as: The Merlin of Japan
Overview
Abe no Seimei (C.E. 921–1005) was an actual historical person but also what you might today call a powerful “high wizard.” Proof of his existence comes from the voluminous literature written about him while he was alive, as well as the books he compiled and authored himself, such as Senji Ryakketsu (占事略决), which is filled with a multitude of detailed techniques about everything from bringing about much-needed rain to conjuring lethal curses.
He spent most of his life working for the government, emperors, and the Heian imperial court (the ruling leadership from C.E. 794–1185) as a specialist in divination and magic, sometimes performing truly extraordinary feats. Abe no Seimei was adept in the practice of Onmyōdō (陰陽道), or the Way of Yin and Yang. Onmyōdō was an eclectic system that, while developed in Japan, mixed together various Chinese and Japanese practices and philosophies, such as the Theory of the Five Elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shintoism. Combine all that with a dash of fox magic, and you get a unique and powerful supernatural system called Onmyōdō. A person who practiced this was called an onmyōji (陰陽師), and undoubtedly, the most famous onmyōji was Abe no Seimei.
To say Abe no Seimei’s duties as an onmyōji were diverse would be an understatement. On any given day, he could be asked to predict the outcome of a battle, locate the best place to dig a well, find hidden or lost objects (or people, for that matter), predict the sex of an unborn child, make a calendar, create a magical protection charm, determine both lucky and unlucky days for an upcoming event, help decide where to put a new building, give advice on military strategy, or exorcise a demon.
Abe no Seimei was able to accomplish all of this by using his versatile skill set of meditation, astrology, cosmology, geomancy, meteorology, chrononomy, divination, reading omens, as well as his gift for being able to commune with gods (kami), spirits of the dead, yōkai, and even demons—especially minor servant spirits called shikigami (式神), which he could coerce into doing his bidding. The practice of Onmyōdō was completely banned in 1870.
Background and Popular Stories
Because Abe no Seimei’s mastery of Onmyōdō was so heralded and unmatched in his day, when the great mystical hero passed away (in the year 1005, at the remarkable, ripe old age of eighty-four), word of his stellar reputation spread throughout Japan, and awe led to exaggeration. “Abe the person” quickly turned into “Abe the magical superhero” of myth and legend. These lines are blurred to such an extent that it is sometimes difficult to separate fact from fiction. But if you want to try, many legends are collected in a book called Konjaku Monogatarishū (今昔物語種), or An Anthology of Past Tales, and there are many fascinating accounts of his life.
One interesting story involves Abe no Seimei’s rival, a fellow onmyōji named Ashiya Dōman, aptly nicknamed “The Evil Dōman.” (Compare that moniker to Abe no Seimei’s, which was “Seimei of Justice.”) One of their best-known duels took place when Abe no Seimei was still quite young. The sneaky Dōman challenged the youthful Abe to compete against him in divining what was inside a sealed box. Abe no Seimei agreed. Ashiya Dōman deviously conspired to have fifteen mikan oranges placed inside the box before the event.
When the day arrived, Ashiya Dōman confidently prognosticated in front of the court and an enthralled audience that there were fifteen mikans in the box. Now, Abe no Seimei might have been young, but he wasn’t born yesterday. He used his own preternatural powers to see through Dōman’s trick. But instead of calling him out on the ruse, the young “Seimei of Justice” announced that, no, there were actually fifteen rats inside the box. Imagine Dōman’s surprise when the box was unsealed and out scurried a swarm of furry rodents. Ashiya Dōman was not only shocked; he was defeated.
Abe no Seimei also used a super-powerful (and super-secret) spell called Taizan Fukun no Sai (泰山府君祭). It translates as the “Lord Taizan Ceremony,” which might sound boring until you realize that Lord Taizan is the god of a mountain in China (Taishan) and also one of the kings of hell. The spell could be used to lengthen someone’s life, save someone from death, or (if you were really lucky) bring someone back from the dead. Abe no Seimei and his clan were the only ones who knew the exact details on how to perform this highly coveted, inconceivable wicked magic. According to rumors, a special invitation was sent to all the kings and demons of the underworld, and a human sacrifice may (or may not) have been involved.
It is said that Abe no Seimei used the Lord Taizan Ceremony on his own deceased father; the spell was also used routinely on emperors to keep them alive for a long time, ensuring their lengthy reigns.
The legendary diviner, dubbed the “Merlin of Japan,” has an interesting origin story, of course. Once upon a time, a just man named Abe no Yasuna was visiting a shrine near the Shinoda Forest when he saw a group of hunters chasing a white fox. Feeling pity for the poor animal, Abe no Yasuna chased after them and managed to save the fox, but not before getting hurt himself.
As he lay injured and bleeding on the ground, a woman suddenly appeared, introduced herself as Kuzu no Ha, and helped him back home. In the following days, this mysterious woman continued to visit to help nurse him back to health. The two fell in love, got married, and had a son they named Dōjimaru.
Life was great until Dōjimaru turned five; at that age, he accidentally discovered that his mother, Kuzu no Ha, was, in fact, a white fox. Having been discovered, Kuzu no Ha lamented that she could no longer remain living among humans. Because she was under the command of the fox god, Inari Daimyōjin (AKA: Inari Ōkami in the Kitsune entry; 稲荷大明神), she had to leave.
Not long after she fled, a heartbroken and distraught Dōjimaru found a hastily written poem his mother had pinned to the door. It read: “If you miss me, come visit. Your grieving Kuzu no Ha in the Shinoda Forest.”
Hoping to convince her to come back home, Dōjimaru and his father hiked deep into the woods, where they were greeted by a white fox. They watched as the animal transformed into Kuzu no Ha right before their eyes. She couldn’t return home with them, she said, but she did present her son with a crystal ball and a golden box, saying the fox god, Inari Daimyōjin, wanted her to entrust the two treasures to him.
Later, Dōjimaru changed his name to Abe no Seimei and became the most powerful sorcerer to have ever worked in the imperial court, and the rest is history—or legend, as the case may be.
In Modern Stories
Abe no Seimei, various onmyōji, and the practice of Onmyōdō itself are extremely popular in books, manga, games, anime, TV shows, and movies. It’s interesting to note, though, that in all the original images of Abe no Seimei, he is presented as an older, somewhat plump man, wearing fancy Heian-style robes. But in recent years, you’ll instead find him depicted as an attractive young lad, tall and thin, with long, silky flowing hair, who practices his onmyōji with great flair.