Abe no Seimei/Haruaki/Haruakira (February 21, 921 A.D. – October 31, 1005 A.D.) was an onmyōji, a leading specialist of onmyōdō during the middle of the Heian period in Japan. In addition to his prominence in history, he is a legendary figure in Japanese folklore and has been portrayed in a number of stories and films.
Seimei worked as onmyōji for emperors and the Heian government, making calendars and advising on the spiritually correct way to deal with issues. He prayed for the well-being of emperors and the government as well as advising on various issues. He was also an astrologer and predicted astrological events. He enjoyed an extremely long life, free from any major illness, which contributed to the popular belief that he had mystical powers.
The Seimei Shrine, located in Kyoto, is a popular shrine dedicated to him. The Abeno train station and district, in Osaka, are sometimes said to be named after him, as it is one of the locations where legends place his birth.
Seimei's life is well recorded, and there is little question about it. Immediately after his death, however, legends arose much like those surrounding Merlin. Many legends of Seimei were originally written in the Konjaku Monogatarishū, and by the Edo period there were many stories in circulation that focused on his heroic acts.
His pedigree was not very clear. His ancestor might have been Abe no Masuki, a Daizen-no-daibu, or Abe no Shunzai, a Kokushi of Awaji. Another candidate was Abe no Miushi, who appeared as an Udaijin (Minister of the Right) Abe no Mimuraji in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Seimei might also have been a descendant of Abe no Nakamaro as Abe-no-Sukune-no-Seimei, although some other sources recorded his name as Abe-no-Asomi-no-Seimei, which refers to the Abe-no-Asomi descending from Abe no Miushi. The name Sukune, through the Abe clan, was taken from Naniwa no Imiki of the Naniwa clan , also known as the Naniwa no Kishi, which Naniwa no Mitsuna established.
According to Anderson, Abe no Seimei was a descendant of the poet Abe no Nakamaro and a disciple of Kamo no Tadayuki and Kamo no Yasunori, 10th-century diviners of the Heian court. He became Kamo no Yasunori's successor in astrology and divination, while Yasunori's son took on the lesser responsibility of devising the calendar. Seimei's duties included analyzing strange events, conducting exorcisms, warding against evil spirits, and performing various rites of geomancy. He was said to be especially skilled in divining the sex of fetuses and finding lost objects. According to the Konjaku Monogatarishu, he correctly predicted the abdication of Emperor Kazan based on his observation of celestial phenomena.
Seimei's reputation grew sufficiently that, from the late 10th century, the Onmyōryō, the government ministry of onmyōdō, was controlled by the Abe clan. The Kamo clan likewise became the hereditary keepers of the calendar.
The mystical symbol of the equidistant five-pointed star, referred to in the West as a pentagram, is known in Japan as the Seiman or the Seal of Abe no Seimei.
According to legend, Abe no Seimei was not entirely human. His father, Abe no Yasuna, was human, but his mother, Kuzunoha, was a Kitsune. At a very early age, no later than five, he was allegedly able to command weak oni to do his bidding. His mother entrusted Seimei to Kamo no Tadayuki so that he would live a proper human life and not become evil himself.
The Heian period, especially the time when Seimei lived, was a time of peace. Many of his legends revolve around a series of magical battles with a rival, Ashiya Doman, who often tried to embarrass Seimei so that he could usurp his position. One noted story involved Doman and the young Seimei in a divination duel to reveal the contents of a particular box. Doman had another person put fifteen mandarin oranges into the box and "divined" that there were fifteen oranges in it. Seimei saw through the ruse, transformed the oranges into rats, and stated that fifteen rats were in the box. When the rats were revealed, Doman was shocked and defeated.
Seimei is involved in numerous other tales as well. He appears as a minor character in The Tale of the Heike and is said to be responsible for divining the location of the Shuten-dōji, a powerful oni purportedly slain by Minamoto no Yorimitsu. He is sometimes said to be the onmyōji who discovered Tamamo-no-Mae's true nature, although the time of the Tamamo-no-Mae story does not coincide with Seimei's lifetime; other sources credit the act to a descendant, Abe no Yasuchika.
After Seimei's death the emperor had a shrine, the Seimei shrine, erected at the location of his home. The original shrine was destroyed in war during the fifteenth century, but it was rebuilt in the same location and still stands today.
The asteroid 5541 Seimei, discovered in 1976, is named for him.
Appearances in fiction and other media:
- AkaSeka, running on No Historical Figures Were Harmed, has a similarly-named stand-in for the historical Seimei voiced by Kosuke Toriumi.
- The Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha VS. The Lone Marebito manga had a descendent of Abe no Seimei who is Raidou's schoolmate and aids him in his missions. However, he's the Big Bad except he's possessed by a demon.
- Drifters has him as a member of the Octobrists, voiced by Takahiro Sakurai
- Fate Series
- Fate/EXTRA: The playable Caster, Tamamo-no-Mae, is mentioned to still hold a grudge against Seimei for revealing her true identity.
- Fate/Grand Order has his rival, Ashiya Doman, as an Alter-Ego Servant working for the Big Bad of the second arc specifically to obtain the power necessary to defeat Seimei. Seimei is also mentioned to be the one who taught Murasaki Shikibu the arts of Onmyodo, allowing her to become a Caster Servant. Though he hasn't appeared physically in the story yet, Seimei indirectly aids the protagonist in defeating Douman in the Lostbelt mini-story Naraka Mandala: Heian-Kyo, via his letters, which also serves as the biggest kick in the teeth to Douman's ego since Seimei never bothered to answer his final challenge in person. Seimei is also reputed to be one of if not the greatest onmyōji in all of Proper Human History.
- Fate/Samurai Remnant: The Overseer of the Waxing Moon Ritual and the Master of Caster, Tsuchimikado Yasuhiro, is a descendant of Seimei who feels a pressure to ensure that the Tsuchimikado family will be able to continue flourishing despite to falling on hard times thanks to his own father being politically outmaneuvered despite his own considerable onmyouji skills. Tsuchimikado himself was only able to create the Waxing Moon Ritual from incomplete records of the Holy Grail War system that Seimei left behind, who had used his ability to see the future to glimpse the system in action and wrote it all down simply because he thought it would be funny for a descendant of him to try and use it.
- GARO: Crimson Moon: Seimei is a female exorcist working for the tripartite fox-deity Inari, and serves as Raikou's handler when it comes to slaying Horrors.
- The character Seimei Ketsuno in Gintama is based on him.
- He's a boss character in Grimms Notes, and goes under the name "Kuzunoha Douji".
- A female version appears in the survival horror game Kuon and in the Onmyouji OVA series.
- The New Getter Robo anime has Seimei as the Big Bad who seeks to conquer the world through his Oni minions.
- Nioh 2 have him appear in the Darkness in the Capital DLC.
- Onmyōji (2001), The Film of the Book of the same name, as the deuteragonist, portrayed by Mansai Nomura.
- Figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu portrayed Seimei in a program with the music from the movie, and did his research, visited Seimei's shrine, and consulted with Seimei's actor, Nomura Mansai, to accurately replicate Seimei's battle in the choreography.
- Onmyōji (2016), the game, as its Amnesiac Hero, voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama (present) and Toa Yukinari (young).
- Otogi Zoshi features him as the Big Bad who wants to destroy Heian. He disguises himself as Mansairaku, a mysterious ally of Minamoto no Hikaru, who tricks her into getting all the magatamas.
- Shaman King: Asakura Hao is a villainous No Historical Figures Were Harmed version of Seimei, an ancient onmyouji who uses a five-pointed star as his personal symbol and wrote a Tome of Eldritch Lore called the Ultra Senji Ryakketsu.note In his Back Story Hao grew to hate Muggles after they killed his mother mistaking her for a demon, which only became worse after he received the ability to hear the hearts of living creatures.
- Toukiden has him as a Mitama (a soul of a hero from Japanese history) who joins the Player Character after defeating Mifuchi.
- Warriors Orochi has him as a playable character, voiced by Yoshimasa Hosoya
Tropes as portrayed in fiction:
- The Archmage: He is the Japanese equivalent of Merlin (who was also a Half-Human Hybrid). However, unlike the European wizard, Seimei’s historical existence goes unchallenged.
- Gender Flip: In Kuon, Otogi: Myth of Demons , Onmyouji OVA series and more recently, GARO: Crimson Moon, Seimei is a woman.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Some versions of the legend turns Seimei in one of these. A son of a human man and a Kitsune.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Some media portrayed him as a villain. Notable examples are the New Getter Robo OVA and AkaSeka.
- While not Seimei himself, the character of Hao is based on him.
- Onmyōdō: One of the Trope Codifiers.
- The Rival: To Ashiya Doman in some versions of the legend.
