A Portrait of Abe No Seimei

8/10/2019 A Portrait of Abe No Seimei

1/22


2/22

Japanese

ournal

f eligious

tudies

0/1:7-97

013

anzannstituteor

eligion

nd ulture

Shigeta

Shinichi

A

Portrait of Abe no Seimei

Abeno Seimei s one of hemost amous

igures

n the

history

f

Onmyd,

with

many

ales ttachedo his

name

hat

ttributeo

him

pecial owers

nd

accomplishments.

his rticleooks t thehistoricalecords

oncerning

be

no Seimei nd tries o reconstructhat an be known

istorically

fhis ife

and actions. herecordshow hatAbe no Seimei id not

reach

rominence

and

high

ank ntilate

n

his

ife,

ell ver

ixty ears

f

ge.

The rticleon-

cludes hat

f

he

nmyji

beno Seimei ad not ived

long

ife,

e

probably

wouldnothave chieved he nusual ame hat

eveloped

n ater

eriods.

keywords:Abe no Seimei henbai demons

onmyji ritsury

ode

shikigami-estivalituals

Shigeta hinichis a

research

ellownthe nstitute

or

he

tudy

f

Japanese

olk

Culture,

anagawaniversity.

77

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3/22

During

was

there

one

was

the

of

a

the

nobleman,

time

three

that

outstanding

Abe

Fujiwara

no Seimei

no

calligraphers

Yukinari

rfBf

UT

of

(921-1005)1

his

day.

(972-1027),

We

was

know

active,

from

who

herewas a

nobleman,

ujiwara

o Yukinari

T

(972-1027),

who

was one of he hree

utstandingalligraphers

fhis

day.

We know rom

his

diary,

onki

SSB

Chh

2

[1000].

0.11.),

hat

eimeiwas

regarded

tthe ime

as the preeminentractitionerfOnmyd michi o kesshutsushal/l^tt#).

On the leventh

ay

of he enthmonth f

Chho

2,

thereconstruction

f he

Imperial

alace,

whichhad

previously

een

destroyed

n

a

fire,

as

finally

om-

pleted.

n

that

ay,

mperor

chij

980-1011,

.

986-1011)

moved

rom istem-

porary

esidence

nto he

new

palace

building,

t which ime eimei

performed

the

magical

tep

alledhenbai

KW.

According

o

Yukinari,

hiswas thefirstime

henbaihad been

performed

n such an occasion.

Formerly

hen he

emperor

had entered new

palace,

a ritual ct

involving

he

scattering

f uncooked

grains

frice

angu

ttt)

had been

made,

rite hat ame

under he

purview

f

theOnmyryim'Bureau fYin andYang), hegovernmentfficencharge

of

divination,

alendars,

strology,

nd

time-keeping.

o

in

1000,

Abe no Seimei

not

only

erformed

rite ifferent

rom

recedent,

ut twas done

by

omeone

whowas not n officerf he

Onmyry.

s to

why

hiswas

permitted,

ukinari

wrote,

Itwas because eimeiwas the

preeminent

ractitioner

f

onmy)d

hat

he attended n the

mperor

Gonki,

hh

2.10.11).

The henbai hat

eimei

performed

n that ccasion

was a seriesof

special

steps

used to tread he

ground

ccompanied

y

ncantations.

n

example

f ts

useprior o 1000appears nthediary fTairano Chikanobu (945-1017),

Chikanobu-ky

iy

n an

itemdated Tenen

2

(974).2.9.

A

prominent

nmyji

PHrP

alledKamo no Yasunori

tIS;:

erformed

enbai n behalf fMina-

motono Michisato

il

S who was

eaving

or he

province

f

Sanuki

o which

he had been

appointed

rovisional ssistant overnor.t s

easy

o

magine

hat

thiswas done to ensure

him

afety

n theroad. For

people

ofthe

time,

enbai

*

Editorialote:

his rticle akeseferenceo

large

umberf extualources-

iaries,

compilations,

nd o forthsomewell

nown,

nd thersot. atherhan dd nnotations

explainingach ext,ehave ivennlyheransliterationf he itles,orxampleonkind

Shyki.

1.The haractersfAbes

iven

ame,

f

would

ormally

eread

ccording

o he

apanese

pronunciation

s Haruaki.

owever,

n

Japan,

he amesf

rominent

eople

re

ustomarily

read

ccording

o

he

hinese

ronunciation,

n

his

ase,

Seimei.hereforen

hisrticle

will

employ

he orm

Seimei,

xcept

n few

xceptional

ases.

78



4/22

shigeta: a

portrait of

abe

no seimei

I

79

seems o havebeen a magical evice oguaranteeersonal afety hengoing o

an unknown

lace

or a

place

perceived

s

dangerous.2

Thus,

twas not

trange

hat enbai houldhavebeenused

when he

mperor

was

moving

nto new

palace.

A

new residence

ruly

was an unknown

pace.

In

fact,

he

nobility

fthe imewouldnothave

occupied

newly-built

welling

until

complex

eries frites

ocusing

n thenew

building,

ncluding

he

per-

formance f henbai

by onmyji

had been

undertaken. or

example,

ujiwara

no

Michinaga

notes

n

his

diaryMidkanpakuki

in

an

entry

ated

Kank

2

(ioo5).2.io,

that e had waited orAbe no

Seimei t the

gate

fhis new

residence.t seems hat eimei,who wassupposed operformherites or he

newly-built

ansion,

as

somewhatate

n

arriving.3

Several ales

n

the

wenty-

eventh

ascicle Honch

eikibu)

fthe

Konjaku

monogatari

h

uggest

hat

eople

n

theHeian

period

onsidered ot

ust

new

dwellings

ut

any

kindofhouse as a

potentially

angerous

pace occupied

by

spirits

nd demons. venwhen he

nobility

eganusing

residencefter

period

of

disuse,

hey

wouldhave n

onmyji

erform

enbai efore

ccupying

t

gain.

Fujiwara

o Sanesukes

diary hyki

ives

s another

xample

re-

dating

000. n

985

Sanesukewas

iving

n

a residence

alled

Nij-tei

hat aced

ontoNij ji (avenue).He placed t for time t thedisposaloftheconsort f

Emperor

ny,

mpress

chgu

K

)

Fujiwara

o Nobuko

il

(957-1017).

During

hat

ime,

e ived t another fhis

residences,

nonomiya,

fter

con-

siderable

eriod

of disuse.Before

iving

here

gain,

he had an

onmyji

alled

Agata

Tomohira

M

perform

enbai

preceded

by

the ritual

cattering

f

uncooked ice

angu

.

And after obuko eft he

Nij

residence,

nd

Sanesuke

was about o move

ack

n,

Abeno Seimei

erformed

enbai or im.4

Itwas

n

such n

environmenthat eimei nstituted

he

performance

fhen-

bai

for he

mperor

henhe moved

ntohis

newly-builtalace.

t ater

ecame

customaryor nmyjioperformenbai n all suchoccasions.Abe no Seimei

had

been able to nstitutehisnew

procedure

ecauseofhis renown

mong

his

contemporaries.

A

PersonWho eesDemons

An

important

ourt itual n the

ast

day

ofthe

year

was called tsuina

.

The

prototype

f

hemodern etsubunnd ts

bean-throwing,

twas held

o

expel

ll

demons hat ad

gathered

ithin

apan

o outside

heboundaries fthe and n

2. n n

example

fhenbaifter000,he

nmyji

oremuneoFumitaka

per-

formedt

when

enerals

ppointed

o

put

own he ebellionf

Chiba oTadatsuneefthe

capital

Shyki

Chgen

1028].

.5).

or etailsn

henbaiseeKosaka

993.

3.

For ites

ertaining

o

newly-built

wellings,

ee higeta

004,

79-211;005, 3-98.

4.

Shyki,

anna

985). .7;

ien

987).

.21.



5/22


6/22

SHIGETA:

PORTRAITF

ABE

NO EIMEI 8l

is a tale ntheKonjakumonogatarih hat elates hatAbe noSeimeihad been

able to see them ince he was a small child

Konjakumonogatari

h kan

24,

Tale

16).

We also knowfrom he

diary

fthe

mperor

da that n

onmyji

ho

served

mperor

Montoku t the

beginning

f

theHeian

period

was

spoken

f

as a

person

who sees demons

Uda

tenn

goki, anpy

889).1.18.).

n the

Shin-sarugakukiy

the scholar

Fujiwara

no Akihira

JS EW

ir

d. 1066),

a fic-

tional haracteralled Kamo no

Michiyo, nmyd

Master was

presented

s

the deal

of n

onmyji,

fwhom twas

said,

Though

e had received

he

body

ofa human

being,

his

heart/mind

ommunicated

ith he

demons

nd

spirits

[kishin

Thus,

he

fact hat

nmyji

ho communicated ith hedemons nd

spir-

its

n

mind nd sawdemons

were n

charge

f

expelling

emonswouldhave

been

seen

as

completely

atural

y

the

people

ofthetime.And

given

his,

he

great

nfluence xerted

y

Abe no Seimeion theoccasion ofthe tsuina f1001

does not ome s a

surprise

s

he was

so

highly egarded.

Gen

Effectiveness

In themiddle f he eventh onth fKank

1004),

here as

drought.

ccord-

ing

to the nformation

rought y

Fujiwara

o Sanenari (975-1045) o

Fujiwara

o

Michinaga,

heFestival itual f heFive

Dragons gorysai

fS)

performed

y

Abe no

Seimei

had been

effective,

nd Seimeihad been

given

a

gift.

his

ppears

n

Michinagas iary MidkanpakukU

ank

.7.14).

The

gorysai

as a

magical

ite

erformed

yonmyji

o

produce

ain.

ane-

nari comment hat thad been effectivendicates ome

response,

nd Seimei

gift

epresented

reward orhis work.The

entry

n

Michinagasdiary

ellsus

that eimeihad caused

rain

o

fall

uring drought hrough

he

performance

f

the

orysai

and received reward or is uccess. his

uggests

hat

Michinaga,

along

withother

people

during

he Heian

period,

believedthat he

onmyji

Seimei ouldcause

rain

o fall

hroughmagic.

This ncident

ppears

o

have been

recorded

n

Sanenari

diary

s well.

n

Fascicle

9

of he hkimokurokuthere s an item atedKank

1.7.16

hat

tates,

Seimei

eceives reward or he ffectiveness

gen

&]

of heFestival f heFive

Dragons. nfortunately,

he

ntry

tself

as

not urvived

n

the

hyki.

would

like, owever,

o draw ttentiono

gen

f heFestival f heFive

Dragons.

ere

it

ppears

n the

ontext fSeimei

eceiving

reward ecause f he ffectiveness

of

magical

itual e had

performed.

5.

Of

ourse,

ot ll

onmyji

ere o

thought

f

y

ll

people.

or

xample,

n

n

entry

n

the

hyki

ated

anju

1024).

0.

9,

we ee hat obbersnteredhe esidencef n

onmyji

called akaharao

Tsunemori,

nd romn temRan

y

okoto nFascicle

7

f he hki

mokurokuweknowhatn

onmyji

alled nakatomio anemitsusufferedn

ndignity.



7/22

DATE

ACTIVITY

SOURCE

Kh

97).6.23

Selecting

n

uspicious

imend

ay

orhe itual

ignalling

he

Honcheiki

beginning

f

olitical

ctivities

Tenroku972).i2.6 eporto hemperoroncerningelestialberrations Chikanobu-

ky

i

Tenroku

972).i2.6

eport

o he

uthoritiesbout

erforming

he

itef he

our

Chikanobu-

Directionso ontrol

he

revalence

f

pidemics

ky

i

Tenen

973)-i-9

Report

o he

mperor

oncerning

elestial

berrations

Chikanobu-

ky

i

Tenen

973).6.n

Divinationbout

ncanny

henomena

or

he

mperor

ny

Chikanobu-

ky

i

Tenen

973).6.n

Henbai

erformed

n

ccasionf he

mperor

nys

rogress

o he

Chikanobu-

Chkain

ky

i

Tenen

974).6.i2

Riverside

urification

erformed

orhe

mperor

ny

Chikanobu-

ky

i

Tenen

974).i2.3Report

o he

mperoroncerning

elestial

berrations

Chikanobu-

kyi

Eikan

984)7.27

Selectedn

uspicious

ime

nd

ay

orhe

nthronementitual

Shyki

of he

mperor

azan,

ucceeding

he

mperor

ny,

nd

he

ceremony

aming

anehitohinn

later

mperor

chij)

s

Crown

Prince

Kanna

98s).4.i9

Purification

erformed

ecause

ujiwara

anesukes

oncubineas

Shyki

late

iving

irth

Kanna

98s).5.29

Purification

erformed

n he

ompletion

f

mperor

azan's

Shyki

period

f

mourning

Kanna

986).2.i6

Divined

hathe

ppearance

f

snaken

he

uilding

f

he

Honcheiki

Dajkan

as

uspicious

Eien

987).2.i9

Performed

enbain he

ccasionf

mperor

chij

oving

rom

Shyki

the ykashaeII# o heeirydenEien

987).3.2i

Fujiwara

anesukead enbai

erformed

n

eturning

o is

ij Shyki

mansion

fter

n

bsence

Eien

988)7.4

Performedkiki-sai

ritual

o

xpel

llness-causing

emons)

t

he

Shyki

residencef

ujiwara

anesuke

Eien

988).8.7

Selectedn

uspicious

imend

ay

orhe

erformance

f n

so-

Shyki

tericuddhistitual

nd he

eikokuseisaior

he

mperor

chij

Eien

988).8.i8

Wrote

etterf

xplanation

bout

hy

e

id ot

erform

he

Shyki

Keikokuseisaior

he

mperorchij

Eiso

989).i.6

Made

divination

oncerning

he

llnessf he

mperor

chij

Shyki

Eiso

989)..7

Performed

purification

or

hellnessf

he

mperor

chij

Shyki

Eiso

989).2.ii

Orderedo

erform

he

aizanukunai

orhe

mperor

chij

Shyki

Eiso

989).

.16

Performed

enbain he

ccasionf he

mperor

chijs

rogress hyki

to nyji

Shryaku

993)..3

Performed

purification

orhe

llness

f

he

mperor

chij

Shyki

Shryaku

994)-5-7

eported

hat

Ninnkhould

eheldn he

mperial

alace

Honcheiki

Chtoku

995).io.i7

eported

nwhetherr

ot ivination

ad een

erformed

hen

Gonki

report

asmade

oncerning

elestial

berrations

Chtoku

997).

.17

electedn

uspicious

ay

nd imeorhe

mperor

chijs

rogress

onki

to

isit

igashianjin

hismother)

Chtoku

997).6.22

erformedenbain

he ccasionf he

mperor

chijs

rogress

o

Gonki

visit

igashianjin

his

mother)

Chh

999)7.8

Performedenbaihenhe

mperor

chij

oved

romheast

o Gonki

the orthf

isemporaryalace,chijin.Chh999)7.16Madedivination

oncerning

hellnessf

mperor

chij

Gonki

Chh

999)7.16

Selectedn

upicious

ay

o

erform

n

Onmyd

estival

un-

Gonki

specified)

or

mperor

chij

Chh

999).io.i3

Madedivination

bouthe

ecessity

f he

reat

mpress

owa-

Shyki

ger,

he

mperial

rincess

hshi,

oving

esidenceso reatn

illness



8/22

DATE

ACTIVITY SOURCE

Chh

999).

o.

3

Selected

n

uspicious

ay

nd our

orhe

mperial

rincess

hshi

hyki

tomoveo he esidencef eMasamune.

Chh999).0.9 Reportnmiscellaneousffairsurroundinghemovef hempe- Shyki

rial rincesshshio he esidence

f

eMasamune.

Chh

999).

1.7

Selected

n

uspiciousay

nd ouror

erforming

fire

revention

onki

ritualn he

mperial

alace

Chh

999).

1. Was rderedo

erform

fire

revention

itual

n

he

mperial

Gonki

Palace

Chh

ooo).i.io

Reported

n ome atter

unspecified)

t he esidence

f

ujiwara

Mid-

Michinaga

kanpakuki

Chh

1000).

.28

Selected

n

uspiciousay

nd ourorhenstallations

mpress

fMid-

the

onsortf he

mperorchij,ujiwara

o hshi

kanpakuki

Chh

1000).

.16 Selected

n

uspiciousay

nd ourorhe isit

y

he

mpress

Mid-

ShshioHkin

kanpakuki

Chh1000).. 9 Divinedhetheratsn ujiwaraukinari'suartersn hemperial onkiPalace ereuckyr nluckyign

Chh

iooo).8.i9

elected

he armfulirectionor

onstructing

he

uidonory

Gonki

Chh

1000).

0.11 erformedenbain he ccasion

f he

mperorchij oving

Gonki

fromis

emporaryalace,chijin,

o he

ewly-erectedmperial

Palace

Chh

1001).

. 0 Selectedn

uspiciousay

nd ouror

igashi

anjin,ujiwara

Gonki

Senshi,

o eneratestatuef ud

Chh

i00i).6.20

electedn

uspiciousay

nd ouror

mperial

rince

tsuyasu

Gonki

(first-born

on f

chij)

o at ishorhe

irstime

Chh

1001).2.17*

ivinedhetherr othe

ll

Higashi

anjin,ujiwara

enshi,

Gonki

should oveo he

anj

esidencef

ujiwara

ukinari

Chh

1001).2.23*

eported

nmiscellaneous

atters

oncerning

he uneral

itesf Gonki

Higashianjin,ujiwaraenshi.

Chh

1001).2.29*

erformedhe

suina,

ancelled

n

he

mperial

alaceecausef he

Seiji

ryaku

deathf

enshi,

n

his wn ome

Chh

ioo2).3.i9

eported

n he easonorhencessant

iresn he

mperial

alace Gonki

Chh

ioo2).3.i9

eported

n

he

rigins

f he amesf he

ates

f he

mperial

Gonki

Palace

Chh

1002).1.9

Performedaizanukunai

or

ujiwara

ukinari

Gonki

Chh

ioo3).8.2i

Madedivination

oncerning

hellnessf

mperial

rince

tsuyasu

onki

Kank

1004)..19

Selectedsite

n

Kohata

or

ujiwaraichinaga

o uild

he

mortu-

id-

aryemple)

anmaid

kanpakuki

Kank

1004).

.26 Asked

y

ujiwara

ukinarihether

twas

uspicious

r ot o Gonki

perform

Buddhistiten Kshin

ay

Kank1004).. 8 Divinedhetherhereasnyeathollutiont he esidencef Mid-Fujiwaraichinaga kanpakuki

Kank

i004).6.20

eported

hattwas otuitableor

ujiwaraichinaga

o rect Mid-

Buddhist

tatuen metsumon

inauspicious)

ay

kanpakuki

Kank

1004)7.14

erformedhe ive

ragons

estival

Mid-

kanpakuki

Kank

1004).

.

2

Divined

hetherr othe

mpress

hshi

houldisit

harano

Mid-

Jinja

kanpakuki

Kank

1004).

. 5

Divinedhether

umbling

t nomine

the

rave

f

ujiwara

o Mid-

Kamatari)

as

uspicious

r ot

kanpakuki

Kank

1004).2.3

Performed

n

Onmyd

itual

unspecified)

t he esidence

f Mid-

Fujiwaraichinaga

kanpakuki

Kank1005)..10 Performedritualornewonstructionorujiwaraichinagas id-

new

anjin

kanpakuki

Kank

ioo5).3.8

Performedenbaihenhe

mpress

hshiisitedharano

inja

Shyki

*

The

ear

n oldndicatesn xtra onth

n

heunaralendar.

figure .Abe o eimeisctivities.



9/22

84

I

Japanese

ournal

fReligious

tudies

40/ 2013)

A similar toryurvivesnanother ntryntheShykidatedShryaku

(993).2.3.

On

that

day,

Abe no

Seimei

visited

anesuke

t

his home.

Just

rior

to

this,

eimeihad been

promoted

rom heLower o the

Upper

Gradeof the

Senior

ifth

ank nd

he

seems

o havebeen

visiting

anesuke o

nform

im

of

this.

According

o what eimeihimself

aid,

when

Emperor

chij uddenly

ell

ill,

eimei

performed purification

eremony

o treat

he llness. t was because

there

was nstant ffectivenesshat eimei ater eceived heraised

anking

s

a reward. eretoo we find eimei

beinggiven

reward

ecauseof he ffective-

nessofhis

magic Shykuhryaku

.2.3).

Inthe ection n Hateful hings ntheMakurano sshiThePillowBook),

Sei

Shnagon

mentions

Someone as fallen

ll

and a

genza

(exor-

cist)

s

summoned. hus

n

Abe no Seimei

day,

eople

called

genza

were sso-

ciatedwith he

curing

f llness.

Genza

wereBuddhist

riests

who

performed

magical

rites,

uch as esoteric ituals nd

magico-religious rayers kaji

kit

Ptit#),

n

a

variety

f

ituations,

ncluding

he

curing

f

llness.Gen or shi-

rushi

s understood

y

he

people

of heHeian

period ppear

o be

synonymous

withwhatwe

today

all effectiveness.

uddhist

riests

ho

performed

soteric

rites r

kaji

were alled

genza

people

having en)

because here

was an

expecta-

tion hat heir ituals ouldbe effective.

People

had similar

xpectations

f he

ffectivenessf he

magical

ituals

er-

formed

yonmyju

uch s festival ituals nd

purifications

o cure

llness,

nd

for ther

urposes.6

t he ame

time,

hese

nmyji

ouldraise heir

eputation

by

displaying en

that

s,

exhibiting

he

effectivenessf their ituals. he

two

examples

we

have

examined bove are

typical.

he reason

hat he

onmyji

be

no Seimei chieved ame s the

reeminentractitioner

f

Onmyd

was due

in

part

o the

effectivenessf thevariousrituals e

performed.7

igure

1

ists

Seimei activitiess an

onmyji

ased on

contemporary

ources;

hey

how he

diverseypes fmagic hat epracticed.

Abeno Seimei n Old

Age

Though

ts author s unknown nd the

date of ts

compilation

ncertain,

he

Nihon

kiryaku

s

highly

steemed s a basic historical

ourcefor he ime

up

to

themid-Heian

eriod.

n

an

entry

ated

Tengen

978).7.24,

here s a

report

saying

A

thunderbolt

ell,

amaging

heresidence fthe

onmy

akase zumo

Kiyoaki

Izumo

Kiyoaki

has been

widely egarded

s refer-

ring o Abe no Seimei.This s because the characters used to transcribe

thename

may

be

pronounced

ither

Kiyoaki

r

Seimei,

nd recentmono-

6.For heworkf

nmyji

n

reating

llness,

ee higeta

004, 24-78;

005, 9-192.

7.

For

magicalracticeserformed

y nmyju

eeOkada

991;

amashita

996.



10/22

SHIGETA:

PORTRAITF

ABE

NO EIMEI

85

graphsnd articlesoncerningbe no Seimeihavefrequentlydentifiedhe wo

as

being

he ame.

t s

certainly telling

necdote or cholars

nterested

n

the

trope

f Seimei

failures,

peaking

s it does

ofhis

nability

o

prevent

thun-

derbolt

triking

isown

house.

It

may

be,

however,

hat he

person

who

appears

as Izumo

Kiyoaki

n

the

Nihon

kiryaku

s

notAbe no Seimei

t all. We shouldnot

underestimatehefact

that he ext

mploys

Izumo

Kiyoaki,

ot Abe

no Seimei. 8 he

Chikanobu-ky

ki referso Abe no Seimei

s tenmon

akase

(doctor

f

astrology)

or

thefirst ime

n

an

entry

atedTenroku

(972).

2.6,

while he ate Heian

his-

toricalwork, oncheiki ittlE,Chroniclef mperialeigns)mentionsAbe

Ason

Seimei,

enmon

akase Senior ifth

ank,

Upper

Grade

n

an

entry

ated

Kanna

2

(986).

2.16. t

s difficultherefore

o think hathe could have

occupied

the

post

of

onmy

akase

n

978,

nd so it

ppears

o be

pushing hings

oo far

o

identify

be no Seimei

with he zumo

Kiyoaki

mentioned

n

theNihon

iryaku.

Nevertheless,

ome cholars

emain

onvinced,

espite

he

vidence,

hatAbe no

Seimei

nd zumo

Kiyoaki

re he ameman.

Those nterested

n Seimei failureshould

note n

entry

n

the

Shyki

ated

Eien

2

988).8.i8.

ecause f n

astrological

ivinationhat aid

he tarKeikokusei

was not na goodposition s far s Emperorchijwasconcerned, in-

zen

I

theTendai

asu

(head

priest),

asto

perform

n

esoteric

uddhist

ritual nd Seimei a

magical

rite alled the Keikokusei

estival

Keikokuseisai

JIIk)

on that

ay.

However,

eimei

idnot

performny

itual

or he

mperor.

Did

he have reason or ot

doing

o,

or did

something

appen

hat

was

beyond

hiscontrol? r

wasthere ome

deeper

eason?We

ust

do notknow.

owever,

s a

result,

eimei

had to write letter

f

xplanation.

his ailure fSeimei

,

which s

backed

y

historical

vidence,

s the

nly

ne known

t

present.

Ifwe set sidethe

ntry

n theHonch eiki atedKh

4 (97).6.23

hat eals

with the nmyjieimei electingnauspicious ime nddayfor heritualig-

nalling

he

beginning

f

political

ctivities,

he arliest

nd mostreliable ecord

concerning

im

s

in Tairano Chikanobus

diary,

hikanobu-ky

i.

However,

this ecord

nly

asts scant

hree

ears,

rom

72

to

974.

t s thereforeifficult

to attain eliable

nformationbout eimei efore

67.

The ast

ntry oncerning

Seimei

s found

n

the

Shyki

datedKank

2

(ioos).3.8;

after hathe no lon-

ger

ppears

n

therecords fhis

contemporaries.

e

may

havedied around

hat

time.At

any

rate,

we can

only

ollow eimei

trail or round

hirty ears,

rom

967

to

1005.

A genealogy ftheAbefamilyncludedna collection fgenealogiesom-

piled

n thefourteenth

entury

alled he

Sonpibunmyakuays

hat

eimei

died

8. Some ariantsave he

rthography

Izumo o

Kiyoaki/Seimei

but

his oes

notmeant eferso Abe o eimei.



11/22

86

I

Japanese

ournal

fReligious

tudies

40/ 2013)

at the geofeighty-ive. fwe take1005 o be theyear fhisdeath,we can esti-

matehe was born

n

Engi

21

921).

f

o,

Seimeiwas

already

ver

fifty

henhe

firstmade an

appearance

n

the

Chikanobu-ky

i and so he was

already

n old

man.Thismeans hat he

only

ecords

e have

ofSeimei refrom is old

age.

Perhaps

he

only

more-or-lesseliable ecord hat xists or eimei efore his

time s the nformationontained

n

the

onpi unmyaku-

eimeiwas studentf

Kamono

Yasunori, ho,

ccording

o

the

undated

azaifu

mandokoro

hanwas

a doctor f he hree

ways

andhakase

HlWit),

that

s,

of

yin-yang

ivina-

tion,

strology,

nd the alendar Heian ibun

No.

4623).

Minamoto

o

Tsuneyori

SJIH (986-1039),who ived round iftyears fterasunori,ept diary alled

the akeiki

E^ISS.

An

entry

ated

Chgen

1032). .4

says,

In

Japan,

hefoun-

dations f

Onmyd

were aid

by

Yasunori. his ells s that he

onmyji

alled

Kamono Yasunoriwhowas Abe

no

Seimei

teacher as

highly egardedmong

theHeian

nobility

s a

preceptor

f

onmyji.

The Abe

genealogy

n the

Sonpi

bunmyaku

escribes eimei s

originally

graduate

tudent

tokugsh

in

astrology.

his

uggests

hat eimei

may

have tudied nder he tenmon akaseYasunori s an advanced tudent

f hat

subject.

Wehave

lready

een hat eimeiwas

appointed

enmon akase tthe nd

ofTenroku 972), nall ikelihoods the uccessor fYasunori.t s alsothought

that

asunori ransmitted

nowledge

f

yin-yang

ivinationo

Seimei,

s well s

astrology.9

n

entry

atedTenen

(974).5.i4

n the

Chikanobu-ky

irecords hat

whenKamoYasunori limbedMount

Hiei to select

y

divination site or new

hall,

he was attended

y

Seimei.

his s an indication f he loseties hat xisted

between he women s teacher nd student.

The

explanation

n theKamo

genealogy

n the

Sonpibunmyaku

hatKamo

no

Yasunori,

howasboth enmon akase nd reki

akasef

lanned

o eave

nly

he

calendarwithin is own

family

ine nd entrust

strology

o theAbe

family

oes

not

necessarily

ppear

o be based on historicalact. ecause herewas no one n

the

Kamo

familyufficiently

ersed

n

astrology

o succeed

Yasunori,

nd as the

Abe

family

ontinued

o

produce

men

proficient

n

astrology

fter eimei

imself,

the

esult as that

fter

he

leventh

entury system

ad beenformed

here he

Abe were

n

charge

f

strology,

nd theKamo the alendar.

he

explanation

n

the

Sonpibunmyaku

s

a

later

reation nd s unrelatedo Yasunori

imself,

nd

reflectshe ituationhat ad

come bout fter he leventh

entury

etween

he

Abe and Kamofamilies

Shigeta

2004,

261-325;

006,

157-73).

9.

The

Ruijusensh

H#,

collectionf aws

nd rdinances

ompiled

n he ate

eleventh

entury,

ncludesdocumentssued

y

he

ajkan

ated enroku

970).

1.8ell-

ing

s hat eimeison

Yoshimasa,

n

strologyokugsh

was student

f he enmonakase

Kamo o

Yasunori

Ruijusensh,

o.

,

Tenmon

okugsh).

eimeis

amily

inewas ater

n

charge

f

oth ivinationnd

strology.

his as he lavorf branch

rom

asunori

ineage.



12/22

shigeta: a

portrait of abe

no seimei

I

87

POSITION DATE SOURCE

Tenmon

okugsh Sonpiunmyaku

Onmyji

Kh

967)

Honch

eikih

967)

.23

Onmy

onno

hzoku

Sonpiunmyaku

Tenmonakase Tenroku

972)

2

Chikanobu-ky

iTenroku

972).i2.6

(former

enmonakase

Shryaku

994)

Honch

eikiy

hryaku

994) .7

Shukei

onnosuke

Chtoku

997)

maseibun-sh

997)

o.

ge

Bicchnosuke Chtoku

997)

maseibun-shChtoku

997)

o.

ge

(rank

ithout

osition)

Chho

1001)

2*

Seiji

ryaku

No.

9

Sakyonnodaibu Chho1002)1 Gonki,hho1002)1.28

Kokusinett

Sonpiunmyaku

Daizenaibu

Sonpiunmyaku

*

The

ear

n oldndicatesn xtra onthn

heunaralendar.

figure .Abe o eimeicareers n

official.

Abeno

Seimei s a

Middle-Ranking

ureaucrat

Accordingo anentryntheGonki atedChh2 (1000). 0.21, be no Seimei

that

ay

acted as

deputy

or heShikibu

aifu

nfcfcfi

Ceremonial

Commis-

sioner)

t a

ceremonyjoi

H)

conferring

romotions

n bureaucrats

erving

thecourt.The Ceremonial ommissioner as the

econd-highest

osition

n

theShikibush

oii

(Ministry

f

Ceremonies),

he

government

epartment

that ealtwith

ersonnel

matters elated o the

bureaucracy.

ecause thecom-

missionerouldnotfor omereason ttend he

eremony,

eimei ookhis

place.

This of coursehad no relation o his activities s an

onmyji.

t the same

time,

eimeiwas

in

a

position

o

deputize

or

he

CeremonialCommissioner.

Though egend

nd lore do not make tclearwhether Seimei was humanor

not,

his historical

ersonage

Haruaki )

was

n

fact

middle-ranking

ureau-

cratwho served hecourt:

n

other

words,

e was an

ordinary

member f

the

Heian

nobility.10

s can be seen from

igure

2,

Seimeidid not

pass

through

ife

as

ust

n

onmyji.

In

the rticle

n

the

eiji

yryaku

oncerning

hetsuina f1001

uoted

bove,

Seimei

s

described s Abeno Ason

Seimei,

Junior

ourth

ank,

ower

Grade,

10.Mostnmyjihose amesppearnrecordsefty heHeian obility,ncludinghose

lower-

anking

fficialsho

everanked

igher

han eniorixth

ank,

ower

rade,

erell

government

fficialsith

anknd

osition

official

nmyji

A

not nconsiderable

ropor-

tion f

hem

ad

he ank f

Junior

ifth

ank,

ower

rade,

hich eant

hey

eremembers

of he

obility

nd

middle-ranking

ureaucrats.or list f official

nmyji

of hemid-Heian

period,

ee higeta

004, 27-83;

006,

28-44.



13/22

88

I

Japanese

ournal

fReligious

tudies

40/

2013)

without fficialosition. hismeans hat he A- f heFourth ank mentioned

in the

Gonki n Chh

2.8.19

s

having

een asked

byFujiwara

o Yukinari

o

perform

ivinationwas

probably

eimei.

According

o the

Sonpi bunmyaku

Junior

ourth

Rank,

Lower

Grade,

was thefinal

anking

hat eimei

received.

The

fact hat eimeiwas

possibly

ithout fficial

osition

whenhe

deputized

or

the

Ceremonial ommissionerits

n

wellwith he

ntry

n

the

eijiyryaku.

As an

official,

eimei

would,

under he

ritsury

ode,

havereceived

salary

from hecourt.

A

document rom he Bureauof Taxation

Shuzeiry

5I?)

concerning

axes ells s that n Chh

4

(ioo2).4.i5,

Abe no Ason

Seimeiwas

anofficialf heJuniorourth ank, owerGrade, arningn income f bout

361

koku ofrice

per

year

Heian bun no.

1161).

n

themid-Heian

eriod,

ti-

pends

roku

i)

were

paid

from he

government

n

theform f

rice,

nd the

amount o be

paid

was

scrupulously

etermined

y

rank.

ncidentally,

mong

theTaxation ureau

documentss one datedChh

4.4.10

oncerning

eimei

son Yoshihira

1?,

who received n income f

bout

215

koku frice s an offi-

cial of he

Junior

ifth

ank,

owerGrade.

Under he

ritsury

ode,

officials

ere,

n

addition o the bove

tipend,

iven

rice andcalled den

EH

rank

ice

fields),

iffering

n

amount

ccording

o their

rank.Anofficialf heJuniorourth ank, owerGrade, eceivedwentyhTO*

(about

fifty

cres)

nd one of he

Junior

ifth

ank,

ower

Grade,

eceived

ight

ch

about

wenty

cres).

ncome rom he rank ields mounted o

around

80

koku

n

Seimei case and to around

52

oku n

Yoshihiracase.11

n

addition,

n

official

osition

lso accrued

salary

n

theform f hikibunden

t

h

EH

office

ice

fields).

s tenmon akase Seimeiwouldhavereceived our

h

about

en

cres),

and whenhe was

Saky

o

gontayu

(provisional

enior ssistant in-

ister,

astern

apital)

e

probably

eceivedwo h

about

ive

cres).

There were also semiannual

presents

kiroku

ti)

to all rankholders

n

theform fcloth ndagriculturalmplements.ut evenconsidering nly he

main ncome ources or fficials roku nd

iden),

eimeiwouldhavereceived

an annual

salary

f around

741

kokuwhenhe was of the

Junior

ourth

Rank,

Lower

Grade,

nd

around

67

kokuwhenhe was of he

Junior

ifth

ank,

ower

Grade.12

n

entry

n the

Shyki

ated

Shryaku

99o).ii.2

reveals hat

uji-

waraSanesuke old his

Nij

residence or ive housand oku and

according

o

11.

be

1993)

ttempts

o onverthe

tipend

f

igh-ranking

fficialsf

he eniorecond

Ranknto

en.

he

onversionf

he

ncome

romhe rank

ields

ade

ere

mploys

is rial

calculation.

12.

f

weuseAbe's

1993)

rial

alculation,

eimei'sncome ould ave een round

19,000,000

en

henf he

unior

ourth

ank,

ower

rade,

nd round

,500,000

en

hen

of he

Junior

ifth

ank,

ower

rade.

sing

he ame

onversion,

ncomeromis official

rice ields ould ave een

round

,000,000

en

when ewas enmon

akasend round

1,000,000

en

hen ewas

aky

o

gontayu.



14/22

shigeta:

a

portrait of abe no seimei

I

89

theGonkU htoku (998).10. 9,thatwhen residence hatwouldafterwards

be used as a

temporary

alace

for

mperor

chij

was

sold,

t made

eight

hou-

sand

koku. fwe consider hat hesewere hekind f

prices

aid

formansions f

the

high

nobility,

e cannot

ay

hat

eimei

incomewas

scanty.13

However,

y

hemid-Heian

eriod,

when he

itsuryystem

adbecomemore

relaxed,

middle-ranking

fficials ithweaker

ositions

id not

necessarily

eceive

the

tipends

hatwere aid downfor hem.One of hereasons

hat

many

f hem

attached hemselveso

powerful

enior fficialsnd the

highnobility

s house-

men kenin

^)

was to use the

good

officesf

hese

gates

f

power

o secure

their ncome.TheShykiinan entry atedKannin3 (1019). .5, ellsus that

Seimei son

Yoshimasa

pf

was a houseman f

Fujiwara

no

Sanesuke,

nd

Seimeihimself

may

havebeen a houseman

f

Fujiwara

no

Michinaga.

Until

1005,

Michinaga

ardly

sed

any nmyji

ther han eimei.

The

Highest-

anked erson

fOnmyd

In

the ollection

f

prose

nd verse exts alled

Chya

unsai

Collected

ecords

of court and

country),

ompiled

n

1116

y Miyoshi

no

Tameyasu

H

(1049-1139),

here

s a document atedChtoku

995).

.1 ncluded

s an exam-

pleofa reportnforminghecourt f themonthly orkingonditions foffi-

cials attached

o theKurdo-dokoro

Scfl,

hichfunctioned

s an

Imperial

secretariat.t tellsus that

during

he

reign

f

Emperor chij,

Abe

no

Seimei

was

appointed

Kurdo-dokoro

nmyji?

ecretarial

nmyji

or he

emperor

(Chya

unsai

,

Chgige

Kurdo-dokoro

esso ).

On

thenineteenth

ay

ofthe econdmonth

fEien 1

987),

Emperor

chij,

whohad succeeded

o the hrone

n

the ixthmonth

f he

previous

ear,

moved

his

leeping

uarters

rom he

Gykasha,

here e had ived s Crown

rince,

o

the

Seiryden,

nd Seimei

performed

enbai

Shyki). ubsequently,

ention

is foundnvarious ecords fSeimei carryingut divinationndmagical ites

for

chij.

Thiswas because Seimei

was theKurdo-dokoro

nmyji

or

chij.

We sawabovehowSeimei eceived

promotion

s

a

result f

particularly

ffec-

tive

purification

itehe

performed

or

chij

whenhe

suddenly

ook ll. As the

Kurdo-dokoro

nmyji

e would havebeen

expected

o

carry

ut

divination

and

magical

iteswhen he

mperor

ecame ick.

When

magical

iteswere o be

performed

or he

mperor,

r when

he eft he

palace,

t was

extremely

mportant

hat he

day

and timebe

carefully

elected

to avoid

nauspicious

ays

and hours.This would also have been the task

of

theKurdo-dokoronmyji. igure 1shows number foccasionson which

13.

rom

n

ntry

n he

hyki

ated annin

1018).

.

6,

weknowhatn

onmyji

alled

KoremuneoFumitakauilt

privatetemple.

ven

umitaka,

hose inal

anking

as

rob-

ably

eniorifth

ank,

ower

rade,

ad ufficienteansodo o.



15/22

90

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ournal

f

Religious

tudies

40/1(2013)

Seimei, s IchijsKurdo-dokoronmyjiselected uspicious ays nd times

for

he

mperor.

twas Seimeihimself ho selected hedatefor he

performance

of the KeikokuseiFestival f

988,

and he laterwrote letter f

explanation

explaining

hy

e did not ttend

Shyki

Eien 2

[988].

.7).

Furthermention s made oftheKurdo-dokoro

nmyji

n

the

Chyki

the

diary

f

Fujiwara

o Munetada

H

(1062-1141),

boutwhom t

ays,

Hewas

a manwho erved n theKurdo-dokorond was of he

highest

ank

Chyki

Daiji

4

[1129].

.8).

Thus

by

Munetadas

ime,

he

highest-anking nmyji

as the

Kurdo-dokoro

nmyji.

be no Seimeiwas the

highest-

anking

nmyji

fhis

own timewhenhe waspromotedoSeniorFifth ank,UpperGrade,n993. 4

This

uggests

hat

lready y

hemid-Heian

eriod,

he

ystem

r custom

xisted

whereby

he

highest-ranking

nmyji

as attached

o

the

Kurdo-dokoro.

There s another ocument

n

the

Chya unsai

hatwe

must onsider ere.

It s dated

Chji

2

(1105).

.21 nd is a

request

or he

promotion

f an

onmyji

calledKamo no Narihira. s a

precedent

or he

xtraordinary

romotion

f n

onmyoji,

tcites he ase of the

econd-highest

anked

erson

f

Onmyd

who

was

given xtraordinary

romotion

Chya

gunsai

15,

Rekid Rekid

oshaku

shs ).Concerning

his

person,

here s an note attached

written bout the

onmyji

be Yoshimasa: Chtoku

(998)4,

awarded

enior ifth

ank,

ower

Grade;

f he

highest

ank t that imewas

Yoshihira son. Yoshihira

as Abe

no

Yoshihira,

ho

was,

ike

Yoshimasa,

son ofSeimei.15

According

o an

entry

n

the

hyki

atedChwa

5 1016).

.8,

Abe no Yoshi-

hirahad on that

ay

been awarded he

Junior

ourth

ank,

ower

Grade.Prob-

ably

ven

n

1015

whenhe was of heSenior ifth

ank,

Upper

Grade,

oshihira

wasthe

highest-ranking

nmyji.

ince

Fujiwara

o Sanesuke ad commentedn

Yoshihirahat there

s

not

one

among

he

practitioners

f

Onmyd onmyka

who cancomparewith im, t s clear hat e was an excellentnmyju hodid

not hame henameof

his father

n

anyway.

Abe no

Yoshimasa,

howas raised

from

unior

ifth

ank,

Lower

Grade,

o SeniorFifth

ank,

Lower

Grade,

was

the

econd-highest

anked

nmyji.

he

expression

ound n

the

Chya unsai

concerning

the

econd-highest

anked

erson

f

Onmyd may

e

thought

o

meanthe

econd-highest

anked

nmyji.

f

this s

so,

the

onmyji

f he

high-

estrank was also at thetime alled the

highest-

anked

erson

f

Onmyd.

At

the ime f

Emperor

chij,

he

person

who

occupied

his

position

was none

other hanAbe no Seimei.

14.

he ocument

n

he

hya

unsai

ave

eimeiranksSeniorixth

ank,

pper

rade.

Thiss

probably

n rrorn he

art

f hewriternd hould ot

ose problem.

15.

or he

elationship

etweenoshimasand

oshihira,

ee higeta

004, 27-60;

006,

86-102.



16/22

shigeta:

a

portrait of abe no seimei

I

91

Onmyd

Whenthe onsort fCrown

Prince

Atsunaga

later

mperor

o-Suzaku),

uji-

warano

Michinagas aughter

oshiko,

ied

n

1025,

n

onmyji

alledNakahara

no Tsunemori

performed

rite alled tama

yobai

calling

ack

the

pirit.

his eems o havebeen a form f

magic

o summon he

pirit

f he

deceased ack nto he

body,

nd

appears

o havebeena rite hatwas

n

demand.

However,

everal

ays

ater,

sunemori as

punished

y high-ranking

eople

ofthe

Way.

he reasonwas that t was unusualfor

nmyji

o

performspirit

calling.

his ncidentwas

reported

n

an

entry

n

the Sakeiki ated

Manju

2

(1025). .23.Those high-rankingeopleoftheWay whopunished sunemori

were

ndoubtedly

eniormembers

f

Onmyd,

n

other

words,

he

highest

nd

second-highest

anked

nmyji.

s the ncidenthows

s,

hese

eople

ontrolled

the ctivitiesf

onmyji

n

general.

tthat

ime,

he

xpression

Onmyd

id

nothave he

meaning

tdoes

today,

hat

s,

a

systematization

f

particular

deas

and

practices.

ather,

tmeant n

organization

f

people

of he ame

profession,

onmyji

whowere nder he ontrol f

high-ranking

eople

of he

Way. 16

Nevertheless,

t s

ikely

hat his ontrol

nly

xisted etween

he

higher

nd

lowerranks

f

onmyji

ho were hemselves

fficials.17

nmyji

with fficial

status ike Abe no Seimei could be calledkanjinonmyjilffiPofficial

onmyji)

ut his oes not

mean hat ll

onmyji

t the imewere fficials.

here

were lso

onmyji

nown s hshi

nmyji

(priest

nmyji

,

whohad

the

ppearance

fBuddhist

riests

nd

were

without fficial

tatus,

nd

presum-

ably

he ontrol f he

Onmyd

id not xtend o them.

Entries

n

the

Shyki

ated Chwa

3

(1014).

1.

,

Chwa

4 (1115). .13,

nd

Chwa

4.8.2

showthat

Fujiwara

no Sanesuke

had a man called Ken Hshi

fifc,

ho must

havebeen a hshi

nmyji

perform

divination

ogether

with eimei son Yoshihira.

written

eposition

oncerning

certain urse

incident ontainednvolume

eventy

f he

Seiji

yryaku

entions hat round

Kank

5 (1008),

a hshi

nmyji

alled Dman

ilS

was a habitual isitor o

a

noblewoman,

akashina o Mitsuko. ei

Shnagons

Makurano sshi in the

section

Things

hat re

distressing

o

see,

mentions hshi

nmyji

n

connec-

tion

with

is

performing

purification

earing

paper ap.

t

appears

hey

were

well-known

igures

n

their

ociety.

Since

the

nobility,

rom round the middle

of Heian

period,

had a

great

abhorrence or

pilling

umanblood

they

id

not

attempt

cts ofviolence o

16. or he

meaning

f

Onmyd

nHeian

imes,

eeYamashita

996.

17.

ccording

o n

ntry

n

he

hyki

ated

hgen

1031)..29,

akaharao

Tsunemori,

who ad

erformed

he

spirit

alling

itual,

as hat

ay ppointed

o he fficef

(third

secretary)

n he

nmyry.

ewas ower-

anking

fficialho ad

uccessively

ccupiedosi-

tions

n

he

nmyry

f

nmyjionmy

o

oku

clerk),

nd

nmy

o

third

ecretary).



17/22

92

I

Japanese

ournal

fReligious

tudies

40/1(2013)

eliminate oliticalrivals, ut rathermployed urses.As a result,herewere

many

ncidents

nvolving

urseswithin ristocratic

ociety

n

Seimei

time,

nd

in

a

majority

f ases he urses

were

laced

by

hshi

nmyji.

he

Nihon

iryaku

in

an itemdated

Kank 6

(ioo9).2.5,

mentions he

onmy

shiGennen

who cursed he

empress,

s well s

the

newly-born

econd son of

the

emperor

and theGreat

Minister f he

Left,

nd the

Hyakurenshy

history

ompiled

n

the

hirteenth

entury,

n an item ated

Chtoku

995).

.

10,

peaks

f

a hshi

onmyji

ho

placed

curse n the

GreatMinister f he

Right.

ccording

o the

ShyukiChgen

3

[1030].

.4),

thehshi

nmyji

amed

Ken who

frequented

Fujiwara oSanesukes esidence asapprehendednsuspicionf aying curse

on

the

daughter

f

Fujiwara

o

Michinaga.Again,

n

the

previously-

entioned

deposition

n

the

Seijiyryaku

oncerning

curse

ncident,

he

frequenting

f

the

residence fTakashina o Mitsuko

y

hshi

nmyji

as related o

thefact

that he used a hshi

nmyji

alled Enn

Rib

to

put

a

curseon

Fujiwara

no

Michinaga

nd

others.

man,

another shi

nmyji

ho was

also a

frequent

visitor o

Mitsuko,

might

lso havebeen

nvolved

n

the

ncident.18

In

contrast o such hshi

onmyji

however,

s

far s we

know from he

records vailable t

present,

fficial

nmyji

ikeSeimei

did not

ay

urses. rom

descriptionsftheir ctivitieshey ather rotectedeoplefromurses, s can

be seen n the

Makurano shi

Things

hat

ive

good feeling :

A

well-spoken

onmyji erforming

urifications

f urses n the

dry

iverbed.

It s also

possible

hat ecause

curse-laying

as

performed

y

hshi

nmyji

official

nmyji

ad no role o

play.Considering

hat he

forementioneden

had a student alled

Goch

&,

and Enn had a

student alled

Myen

'P,

hshi

nmyji

ho could enact urses

may

have

carefully

rained heir

ucces-

sors.Even

f

hiswere

notthe

case,

official

nmyji

under trict

upervision

f

their

uperiors,

ould not have been

permitted

o have

any

connection

with

criminal cts uch s

curses.

Shikigami

Perhaps

ne

of he

spects

f he

magic mployed yonmyji

n

theHeian

period

that nterests odern

eople

the

most s theartof

nvoking hikigami

tt

to

do their

idding.Onmyji

who

appear

n

tales and

legends

ll

possess

these

shikigami

which

may

e

spirits

r

demons,

hat

hey

re bleto command

reely;

on

occasion

hey

lso

lay

downcurses

using

hem. he

onmyji

be no Seimei

whoappearsnthis ontextsaccomplishedtcontrollinghikigami.is famen

18. t s

nteresting

hat hshi

nmyji

alled man

ctually

xistedt he ime eimei as

active,

inceore nd

egends

hat ere

o

merge

atereaturen

nmyji

alled man

or ma)

as

Seimei

ong-standingnemy.

n

hese

tories,

mans n

nmyji

ho

laces

urses.



18/22

shigeta:

a

portrait of

abe

no seimei

I

93

this espectmust avebeenwidely nown, or is use of hikigamis mentioned

not

only

n tales n the

Konjakumonogatari

h and

Uji

shi

monogatari

but

also for nstance

n thechronicle f

Emperor

azan

in

the

Okagami.

n

reality,

though,

here s no mention

n

thehistorical

ecord fAbe no Seimei

mploying

shikigami

and

virtually

oneeven

of

hikigami

hemselves.

In the deal

portrait

f the

onmyji

amo no

Michiyo

drawn

by

Fujiwara

no Akihira

n

the

Shin-sarugakuki

e is

described s

commandinghikigami?

Though

hisKamo s a fictional

haracter,

his

description

tronglyuggests

hat

the

people

of

the ime onsidered hat

nmyji

ould command

hikigami.

he

Shkimokurokuontains heheading,It s said that shikigamis the ause of

theMinister f heLefts

roubles,

nder hedateChh

2.5.9

Shy

mokuroku

20,

Gonayamu

oto ).

According

o

this,

t

appears

hat t the

ime,

he llness

oftheGreatMinister

fthe

Left,

ujiwara

no

Michinaga,

was

thought

o have

been caused

by hikigami.

Today

hedetails f his ncident re unknown s

the

diary ntry

tselfs

ost,

and we haveno

knowledge

fwho

may

have controlled he

hikigami.

esides

this,

here reno other

ecords hatmention

hikigami.

here s

only deity

alled

Shiki o kami mentioned

n theMakurano shi

When

first

egan

o

wait n

the mpress ) ho s saidto be ableto udgewhetherhingsre rue r false.

Perhaps

we can make the

following onjecture.

We see

in

the

Makura no

sshi hat n

onmyji

as

accompanied

y

kowarawabe

hit

(small

child

or

youth),

who was

very

wellversed

n

ritual

nowledge.19

e know oo that he

hshi

nmyji

nn,

who was mentioned

n

the

Seijiyryaku

s

being

ccused

of he rime f

aying

curse,

was

accompanied

y

the

dji

t

(youth)

Mono-

nobe no Itomaru. hus t seems o havebeen a custom fthe

timefor

nmyji

to be attended

y

young

oys,

nd

people

may

have ooked n them s

shikigami

commanded

y

he

onmyji.

tale n the

Konjakumonogatari

hconfirms

y

supposition;

t describes ow a hshi

nmyji

alledChitokuwas

accompanied

by

wo

hikigami

n

the

form f

boys Konjakumonogatari

h kan

24,

Tale

16).

Taizan

Fukun ai

One

magical

ite hatwas

acquired

y

thehistorical be no Seimeiwas Taizan

Fukun ai

(Festival

ituals fTaizan

Fukun).

hiswas an invocationf

TaizanFukun nd other eities ssociatedwith heRealm f heDead

to ncrease

the

petitioner

allotted

ifetime,

o

bring

him riches nd

honors,

nd to avert

calamityndmisfortune.twas also called hichikensh ai (Festival

rituals f he even

fferings

nd a

letter f

upplication).

heritual

ained

n

pop-

19.

According

o heMakura o

shi,

owarawabearriedut ll hemiscellaneousuties

whenhe

nmyji

as

erforming

n xorcismr ome therite.



19/22

94

I

Japanese

ournal

fReligious

tudies

40/

2013)

ularityrom hereign fEmperorchij ndeventuallyecame ne of hemost

characteristicf hose

erformed

yonmyji.

t

firsttwas used

among

he ourt

nobility,

ut

during

heKamakura

eriod

t

spread

o the

warrior lass.Conse-

quently

t

anbe assumed hatAbeno Seimei ad the

ntentionf

popularizing

t.

The earliestmention

n

the historical

ecord f Taizan Fukun ai

(under

the name of Shichiken

sh

sai)

is

in

the

diary

f

Fujiwara

no

Saneyori

Teishin ki

in

an

entry

ated

Engi

19 9i9).5.28.

hefirstime t

ppears

n

the

orthography

aizan

Fukun ai is

n

the

ShykU

iso

1

989).

.11. t had been

performed

or

mperor

chij;

ccording

o the

Shyki

a rite alled

Daiyakusai

ftJE to ward ff alamitynd diseasehadbeen ntended or heprevious ay,

but he

Taizan ukun ai was

performed

n this

ay

nstead. heritualist as

Abe

no

Seimei.

After

89,

the

Taizan

Fukun ai

was

frequently

erformed.

n

entry

ated

Chh

4 (1002).

1.9

n

theGonki

ives

n

example

f

Fujiwara

o Yukinari

av-

ing

Abe no

Seimei

perform

tfor

im,

while ntriesn

the

Shyki

atedKank

2

(1005).

.18 nd

Chwa

2

(1011). .25

uggest

hat

ujiwara

no Sanesukehad it

performed

yonmyjivery ear

n the

econdmonth. nd

according

o a doc-

ument atedKank

7 (1010). 0.30,

round his ime he

Taizan

Fukun

ai was

one of the

customary

ituals arried ut

by onmyji

tcourtfor he

emperor

(Heian

ibun

no.

458).

As is clearfrom he

gap

between

erformances

f more hanhalf

century

between

19

nd

989,

twas

rarely

erformed

n

the ime f

chijs

predecessors,

the

emperors

azan and

Eny.According

o

Hayami

1975),

n

the

mid-Heian

period

eliefs

oncerning

heRealm f he

Dead,

such s

Taizan

Fukun,

nmaten

RUSK,

and

Jiz

J&j

were

not

particularlylourishing.

f

that

s

so,

t s not ur-

prising

o find hat he

Taizan ukun ai was not

popular

efore he

ime f

chij.

Thefact hat heritual ained npopularityromchijsreignmaybe attrib-

uted o Abe no

Seimei

energetic

ponsorship

f t.For

example,

ccording

o

an article n the

Gonki

ated

Chh

4 (ioo2).ii.28,

early

hat

morning

ukinari

had

presented

fferings

nd

petitioned

aizan Fukun

for

ong

ife. eimeihad

recommended e do this.We should ememberoo that t

was Seimeiwho sub-

stitutedhe

Taizan

Fukun ai for he

Daiyakusai.

It

thus

appears

thatSeimei

encouraged

people

to have the

Taizan

Fukun

sai,

with ts focuson

worldly

enefits,

arried ut and indeed

tried o widen

its

performance.

t

may

eema little eckless o attributeo a

single nmyji

he

popularityf thecomparativelyargephenomenonhat heTaizanFukun ai

became,

but

udging

rom he

degree

f

Seimei

social

nfluence,

s seen from

the

xample

f he suina f

1001,

his s not uch n

unwarrantable

upposition.

This social

clout

may

well have been wielded s a

result f his

position

s the

senior

igure

f

Onmyd.



20/22

shigeta:

a

portrait of abe

no seimei

I

95

ConditionsfRisingoHighRank

We

have

lready

eenthat he

onmyji

ith

he

highest

ank

had the

position

f

Kurdo-dokoro

nmyju

nd the

econd-highest

anking nmyji

ad a simi-

lar

ppointment.

he Kurdo-dokoroocument f

995

thatwe examined bove

gives

henameof

Kamo

no

Mitsuyoshi

s the

Kurdo-dokoro

nmyji.20

Kamono

Mitsuyoshi

as a student fSeimei

teacher,

amono

Yasunori,

nd

appears

n

theGonki

Kank

[1011].

.9)

as

an

accomplished

nmyji Mitsuyoshi

knows ivination

nside

ut;

he

should

be called a

god.

However,

s

surviving

accounts

how,

Mitsuyoshi

id not

perform

ivination nd rituals or

mperor

Ichij nywhere

n the ame scale as Seimei. t was

only

ftereimeisdeath n

1005,

when

Mitsuyoshi

ecame he enior

nmyju

hat isactivitiesn this rea

stand ut.21

In

all

likelihood,

he

highest-ranked

erson

of

Onmyd

fundamen-

tally

had

the

position

f

Kurdo-dokoro

nmyji.

he

second-highest

anked

onmyjimay

have

deputized

s Kurdo-dokoro

nmyji

orhis

superior

nly

when

omething

revented

he

uperior

rom

erforming

is task.

f

this s

so,

theKurdo-dokoro

nmyji

who had a virtual

monopoly

n divinations

nd

rituals onnected ith he

mperor,

ouldhave

had

a

far

reater pportunity

o

attain markedevel ffame nd

reputation

hanhis

deputy

r other

nmyji

f

lower ank.As we have

lready

een,

onmyji

fthetimewere

pparently

ble

to boost their

ecognition

s

onmyji y

the

efficacygen

of

their ituals.

uch

recognition

ouldhavebeen all

the

greater

f hat

fficacy

ad been

displayed

in

rituals

erformed

or he

mperor.

t wouldhavebeen the ame

n

the ase of

appraisal

hrough

ivination.

The

onmyji

ho

received

xtraordinaryecognition

t thetimewere

only

thosewho stood

as

the

highest-ranked

erson

of

Onmyd.

More

precisely,

itwasonlywhen personhad attained hisposition hathe received enown.

For

example,

Kamo

no

Mitsuyoshi

was

praised

with

he words

Mitsuyoshi

knowsdivination

nside

out;

he should be

called

a

deity

nly

fter eimeis

death.

Again,

twas

only

he

yearfollowing itsuyoshi

death hat twas said

aboutAbe no Yoshihira hat therewas no one who could

compare

with

him,

at a timewhenYoshihira imself ad become the

highest-ranked

erson

of

Onmyd.

20.

n n

ntry

n

heGonkiated htoku

998). .27,

heresmentionf Kamo oAson

Mitsuyoshi,eniorifthank,owerrade,rovisionalirector,ureauf he alace itchen.Thusn

95,

eimei,

ho ad een aisedo eniorifth

ank,

pper

raden

93,

ould ave

been he umberne

erson

f

Onmyd,

nd

Mitsuyoshi

umber

wo.

he

Kurdo-dokoro

documentf

95

ives itsuyoshi

ranks Senior

ixth,

pper

rade,

ut his houlde een

as n rrorn he

art

f he

hya

unsai.

21.

or

Mitsuyoshi

activitiess n

onmyji

seeYamashita

996.



21/22

96

I

Japanese

ournal

f

Religious

tudies

40/1(2013)

Thus t eems hat or fficialnmyjif he ime,heposition f he highest-

ranked

erson

f

Onmyd

was not heresult f dvancement

n

society

ut

condition or t.

n this

ense,

Abe no Seimei rise

n

status ame

extremely

ate.

Figure

1

hows hat n the

wenty-seventhay

f he eventh

month fEikan

2

(984),

Seimei elected

he

day

for he nthronementitual f

Emperor

azan,

who ucceeded

mperor

ny.

We can thereforeurmise

hat

eimeihad

by

his

timebeen

working

s an

onmyji

n theKurdo-dokoro.

owever,

eimeihad

selected he

day ogether

ith n

onmyji

alled Fumino

Michimitsu,

nd fur-

thermore,

ichimitsu as of

higher

ank hanSeimei.This

uggests

hat ur-

ingthereigns fEny ndKazan,Seimeiwasappointed s the econd-highest

ranking nmyji

f heKurdo-dokoro.

It was around

86,

when

chij

came

to the

throne,

hat

Michimitsus ame

disappears

from he record nd we can assume Seimei

became

the

highest-

ranked

igure

f

Onmyd.Having

been born

n

921,

he would

already

have

been well

over

ixty ears

f

ge.

No

great

mportance

as been attached o this

fact,

ut

Abe

no Seimei

did not

possess

the

necessary

ondition or dvance-

ment ntil

e had entered ld

age.

His fame

ertainly

ame ate

n

ife.

During

he

Chh

era

999-1004),

whenSeimeiwas described s the

pre-

eminent ractitionerfOnmyd nd amaster fOnmyd, e had risen

to

the

Junior

ourth

Rank,

Lower

Grade,

but he was

already ged eighty.

is

teacher amo no Yasunori ad achieved

he amerank n his

fifties,

nd hisson

Yoshihira

n

his sixties. t s

apparent

rom

his

hat eimei

had not advanced

smoothly

n

his career.

ndeed,

f

he had not

had such a

long

ife,

e

might

ot

havewon

thefame hat as allowedhis name o becomeknown o us.

REFERENCES

Abe

Takeshi

O

S

1993

Heiankizoku

ojitsuz Tokyo:

kyd

huppan.

HayamiTasuku

lzK m

1975

Heian kizoku

hakai o

Bukky Tokyo:

oshikawa

Kbunkan.

Kosaka

Shinji

hS-

1993

Onmyd

o henbai

itsuite

In

Murayama,

ol.

,

117-47.

MurayamaShichi etal., ds.

1991-1993

Onmyd

sho

4

vols.

Tokyo:

Meicho

huppan.

Okada

Shji

KEHffiW]

1991

Onmyd

saishi no seiritsu o tenkai

SIISI.

In

Murayama ol.

1,

53-95.

okyo:

Meicho

huppan.



22/22

SHIGETA:

PORTRAITF

ABE

NO EIMEI

9J

Shigeta Shinichi

2004

Onmyji

o

kizoku

hakai

swS

Tokyo:

oshikawa bunkan.

2005

teian

kizoku

o

onmyji

t

f

Hf.

okyo:

oshikawa bunkan.

2006

Abeno

Seimei

Hp

Tokyo:

oshikawa bunkan.

Yamashita Katsuaki

ilTSW

1996

Heianjidai

no

shky

unka o

Onmyd

Tokyo:

wata hoin.

[translated

y

Gaynor

ekimori]

A Portrait of Abe No Seimei

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Transcript of A Portrait of Abe No Seimei