Abe no Seimei facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Abe no Seimei |
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Abe no Seimei as drawn by Kikuchi Yōsai (菊池容斎), a popular painter in Japan.
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| Religion | Onmyōdō |
| Personal | |
| Born | February 21, 921 A.D. – Abemonju-in Temple in Sakurai, Nara, Japan |
| Died | October 31, 1005 (aged 84) Japan |
| Senior posting | |
| Based in | Japan |
| Title | Onmyōji |
| Religious career | |
| Post | Onmyōji – adviser to the Emperor on the spiritually correct way to deal with issues. |
Abe no Seimei (安倍 晴明, February 21, 921 A.D. – October 31, 1005) was a very important onmyōji (pronounced: ohn-myoh-jee). An onmyōji was a special kind of government official in ancient Japan. They were experts in Onmyōdō, a mix of natural science and magic. Seimei lived during the middle of the Heian period (794 to 1185 AD).
Besides being a real person in history, Abe no Seimei is also a famous character in Japanese folklore. Many stories and movies have been made about him.
Seimei worked for the emperors and the government. He gave advice on how to handle problems in a way that was spiritually correct. He also prayed for the well-being of the emperors and the country. He was an astrologer too, meaning he could predict events by studying the stars. People believed he had mystical powers because he lived a very long life without getting sick.
The Seimei Shrine in Kyoto is a famous place dedicated to him. The Abeno train station and district in Osaka are named after him. This is because some legends say he was born there.
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Abe no Seimei's Life and Legends
Abe no Seimei was a real person. We know a lot about his life from historical records. But soon after he died, many exciting legends began to spread about him. These stories are much like those told about the wizard Merlin. Many of Seimei's legends were first written down in a collection called the Konjaku Monogatarishū. By the Edo period (1603-1868), many tales focused on his heroic magical acts.
Seimei's family background is a bit unclear. Some say he was related to a famous poet named Abe no Nakamaro. Others say his family came from important government officials. He learned his skills from two famous diviners (people who predict the future) named Kamo no Tadayuki and Kamo no Yasunori. Seimei became the best at astrology and divination, even better than Yasunori's own son.
Seimei's job involved many things. He would look into strange events and perform exorcisms to get rid of evil spirits. He also used geomancy (a way of telling the future using patterns on the ground) for various rituals. People said he was amazing at predicting if a baby would be a boy or a girl. He could also find lost items. One story says he correctly predicted that Emperor Kazan would give up his throne just by watching the stars.
Abe no Seimei became so famous that his family, the Abe clan, took control of the Onmyōryō. This was the government office in charge of Onmyōdō. The Kamo clan, his teachers' family, became the official keepers of the calendar.
The five-pointed star symbol, also known as a pentagram, is very important in Japan. It is called the Seiman, or the Seal of Abe no Seimei. This symbol was first Seimei's personal mark. Later, it became the symbol for the Onmyōryō and for Onmyōdō itself. This is because it connects to the Chinese Five Elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water).
According to legend, Abe no Seimei was not entirely human. His father, Abe no Yasuna, was human. But his mother, Kuzunoha, was a kitsune (a magical fox spirit). Stories say that when he was very young, maybe five years old, he could already command weak oni (demons) to do what he wanted. His mother wanted him to live a good human life. So, she sent him to Kamo no Tadayuki to be trained.
The Heian period, when Seimei lived, was a peaceful time. Many of Seimei's legends are about his magical fights with a rival named Ashiya Dōman. Dōman often tried to make Seimei look bad so he could take his place. In one famous story, Dōman and young Seimei had a divination contest. They had to guess what was inside a box. Dōman secretly had someone put fifteen mandarin oranges in the box. He then "divined" that there were fifteen oranges. Seimei saw through the trick. He used his magic to turn the oranges into rats. Then he said there were fifteen rats in the box. When the box was opened, rats ran out, and Dōman was shocked and defeated.
Seimei appears in many other tales too. He is a small character in the Heike Monogatari, a famous Japanese epic. He is also said to have found the hiding place of the Shuten-dōji, a powerful oni (demon). This demon was supposedly killed by Minamoto no Yorimitsu. Sometimes, people say Seimei was the onmyōji who found out the true nature of Tamamo-no-Mae, a famous fox spirit. However, this story happened after Seimei's time. Other stories say a descendant of Seimei, Abe no Yasuchika, was the one who did it.
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Torii of the Seimei shrine in Kyoto.
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Seimei's pentagram mon represents the Wu Xing.
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Seiman Dōman amulet, showing Seimei's pentagram and Dōman's lattice.
Abe no Seimei's Legacy
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After Seimei died, Emperor Ichijo built a shrine in his honor. This was the Seimei Jinja, built in 1007 AD, at the place where Seimei's home used to be. The first shrine was destroyed in a war. But it was rebuilt in the same spot and is still there today. The Seimei Jinja in Kyoto is very popular. Many people who are fans of Seimei from movies and stories visit it. In 2005, the shrine was fixed up and decorated with pentagrams. The shrine sells charms with pentagrams and the Chinese bellflower on them, which are linked to Seimei.
The asteroid 5541 Seimei, found in 1976, is named after him.
Japanese figure skater and two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu performed as Abe no Seimei in his Olympic free skate program. This program was called Seimei. He used music from the movies Onmyōji and Onmyōji II. With this performance, Hanyu became the first skater to score over 200 points in the free skate. He also set new world records in the 2015–16 season. This program helped him win his second Olympic title in 2018.
Abe no Seimei's origin story was also told on the Japanese Animation TV show, Folktales from Japan. It appeared in episode 83, showing how his parents met and his early life. It also showed how his mother told him to become a fortune teller to help people.
Some scholars have called Abe-No-Seimei the “Merlin the Magician of Japan.” This is because of his many legends and how he is shown in stories, folklore, and films. Also, the legends of Merlin say he was part demon and part human. This is similar to the Kuzunoha legend about Seimei's mother.
Senji Ryakketsu
Abe no Seimei is believed to have written the Senji Ryakketsu. This was a basic guide to Onmyōdō.
Abe no Seimei in Fiction
Abe no Seimei appears in many fictional works. He is often shown as a helpful and wise person. Sometimes, he is an enemy, like in Twin Star Exorcists. But there are exceptions, such as in Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan. In that story, Seimei was also a powerful ayakashi (supernatural being) and the Lord of Darkness.
Since 1989, Abe no Seimei has often been shown as a bishōnen, which means a handsome young man.
Novels
The 1985 historical fantasy novel Teito Monogatari by Hiroshi Aramata helped bring back interest in Onmyōdō in Japan. In this novel, two main characters are descendants of Seimei. They have inherited all his knowledge.
In 1988, Baku Yumemakura started a novel series called Onmyōji. In these books, Seimei is a handsome young man living in a Heian-period world with mysterious beings. Reiko Okano turned this into a manga, which became very popular with teenage girls. In 2002, a TV series was made based on the novels. These novels were also made into an anime by Marvy Jack for Netflix in November 2023.
Films
The film Onmyōji, starring Mansai Nomura as Seimei, came out in 2001. This movie was based on Yumemakura's novels. A sequel, Onmyōji 2, was made in 2003.
In 2020, a Chinese film called The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity was made. It was based on Yumemakura's Onmyōji novels. Seimei was played by Mark Chao. The next year, another Chinese film, The Yinyang Master, was released. This film was based on a NetEase game called Onmyōji. Seimei was played by Chen Kun.
Television
To build on the success of the Onmyōji films, Fuji Television made a miniseries in 2004. It was called Onmyoji: Abe no Seimei. This series was not connected to the movies.
Games
Abe no Seimei was a playable character in the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, Xbox One, and Wii U versions of Warriors Orochi 3.
Seimei appears in the video game Toukiden: The Age of Demons as a mitama (a hero's soul from Japanese history).
Onmyoji, a mobile game, features Abe no Seimei as the main character. He summons different Shikigami (spirit beings) to fight demons with his friends.
In Dragalia Lost, Seimei is the head of the Ox Clan. This is one of the twelve clans in Hinomoto that serve Amaterasu. He has a dragon partner named Gozu Tennō and a kitsune student named Kuzunoha.
Seimei appears as a character in the video game Nioh 2. Even though he lived in the Heian period, he strangely shows up during the Sengoku era. He trains players in Onmyō magic. Later, it is revealed that this character was an avatar created by the real Seimei. The real Seimei had sacrificed himself to seal away powerful demons.
Seimei is the main villain in the PlayStation Vita game Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines. He is a priest who puts a curse on the main characters. This curse shortens their lives to only two years.
Manga
Hao Asakura's character from Hiroyuki Takei's Shaman King is based on Seimei. Hao writes a magic book inspired by Seimei's Senji Ryakketsu. They also share similar life details. For example, their mothers are called demon foxes, and they could create oni when they were young.
Seimei is shown in a manga called Nurarihyon no Mago by Hiroshi Shiibashi. He is a Nue, a dark lord of the Ayakashi, born from an evil fox. Nurarihyon no Mago was also made into an anime series.
Abe no Seimei also appears in the manga Igyoujin Oniwakamaru. Here, he is an evil spirit who wants to come back to life and rule over humans and yokai (supernatural beings).
He also appeared in Kouta Hirano's Drifters manga series. He leads a group of magicians called the Octobrist Organization. He is a young man who has been pulled into another world. Here, different historical figures are summoned. Magicians need their skills to save their world from being destroyed.
In the manga series Twin Star Exorcists, Seimei was actually a female exorcist. She was no older than thirteen. She founded a style of exorcism and created a powerful barrier. Before she sealed herself away, she gave some of her powers to her student, Doujimaru. This Doujimaru is the one known as 'Abe no Seimei' in modern times.
Anime
Seimei can be seen in the anime Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, released in 2004. The show focuses on the Onmyōji practice of changing events to avoid bad things. Seimei also appears in the anime Gintama as an onmyōji. He is also in the anime Shonen Onmyouji, which is about his grandson. Seimei is a main character in the anime called Otogi Zoshi.
Seimei appears in the anime New Getter Robo as the leader of the evil oni.
The second season of the anime Garo: The Animation features a female Abe no Seimei as its main character.
He also appears in the anime Fukigen no Mononokean. In this show, Ashiya is his friend, not his rival.
Seimei plays a role in the Midnight Occult Civil Servants anime. This show is about civil servants in Tokyo who secretly manage many fairies and other magical creatures.
Games (Continued)
In Part 1.5 of the mobile game Fate/Grand Order, Seimei's name is used as a secret identity by Ashiya Dōman. Later, Seimei briefly appears as a helper to the main character.
