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Abe no Seimei

Type Figure Region Japan Time 921–1005 Also known as Abe no Seimei Kō

Heian-period onmyoji (921–1005) who served in the Onmyoryo, famed for divination and exorcism and later legendary as a master of spirits in Japan.

Timeline

  1. 921–960Heian-kyo · Kyoto PrefectureAbe no Seimei was born into the Abe clan; legend holds his mother was the feathered fox. From childhood he studied onmyodo, astronomy and the calendar, and incantations with his uncle Abe no Masuki, showing divinatory talent in the capital in his youth.
  2. c. 960–995Onmyoryo, Heian-kyo · Kyoto PrefectureHe held posts including doctor (hakase) and assistant director (suke) of the Onmyoryo, conducting calendar selection, exorcisms, divination, and celestial interpretation for the court and taking part in religious rites amid Fujiwara power struggles, earning the trust of the courts of Daigo, Murakami, and Ichijo.
  3. c. 995–1005Heian-kyo · Kyoto PrefectureIn 995 he rose to Onmyo-no-kami, head of the bureau, the highest onmyodo office. He died on October 31, 1005, aged 85. His tomb lies near Ichijo Modoribashi in Kyoto; later generations venerated him as a patriarch of onmyodo, and his legendary and uncanny deeds spread widely among the people.

Sources