Twelve Directions

Twelve Directions (十二直ja:十二直) is a topic linked to Onmyodo

Overview[edit]

Since the ban by the government of Meiji Japan, there has been no official event derived from onmyōdō, and there has been no popularity of onmyōdō in the private sector either. However, in reality, calendars derived from the onmyōdō still circulated unofficially, with Calendrical Notes gaining popularity and walking on their own. In particular, the Twelve Directions were heavily used, and there were many people who referred to them in rituals and codes of conduct.

After the Pacific War and the official repeal of the laws and ordinances prohibiting onmyōdō with the repeal of the old laws and ordinances of the Meiji era, the Six Days, one of the Carendrical Notes once used by onmyōji, were preferred to the Twelve Directions and often appear on many calendars, but this is only used as a supplement. As for calendars related to fortune, the Takashima calendar (unrelated to the Jingū calendar of Ise Grand Shrine) of Takashima's I Ching Divination (no relation to Kaemon Takashima, a businessman and I Ching diviner of the Meiji era) by Jingūkan (a publisher in Taitō City, Tokyo Metropolis) is relatively popular, but this is hardly onmyōdō.

Today, there are few people who rely on the arts of onmyōdō for general guidelines for behavior, and there is no trace of the authority of onmyōji that once flourished. The Association of Tensha Tsuchimikado Shinto still exists in Ōi Town in the western part of Fukui Prefecture, in the area of Natashō in Wakasa Province, which used to be the territory of the Tsuchimikado family, as a religious organization that retains elements of onmyōdō, but it is far removed from the onmyōdō of the middle to late Heian period. Other than that, there are only a few vestiges of onmyōdō surviving in local onmyōji such as the Izanagi school in Kami City (formerly Monobe Village), Kōchi Prefecture. Based on the occult image of the spell-binding onmyōji of the Heian period, various creative works and characters were created to exaggerate their superhumanity and peculiarity. In particular, from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, onmyōji became popular, and many works were created.

Overview of rituals in onmyōdō[edit]

As onmyōdō itself has diversified over time, its rituals have also not been uniform. Since the rituals of onmyōdō, including its influence with other religions, are still in the process of research, it is difficult to describe them in detail. When onmyōdō was first introduced to Japan, it is thought that it was strongly influenced by the so-called jugondō [ja]. In the "Onmyōryōshiki (Japanese: 陰陽寮式, literally: Procedures of the Bureau of Onmyō)" of the book "Engishiki," there is a record of the festivals held by onmyōji in the court. According to it, there are the nuo folk religion (setsubun), bonfire, kitchen God festival, death anniversary festival of the previous Emperor, new year's festival, and so on. Among them, in the nuo folk religion, it says that an onmyōji goes (to a stage) and reads the ritual text, the first half of which is a Classical Chinese text read aloud, and the second half is a declaration like liturgical incantations. In addition, the medieval book "Bunkanshō" gives an overview of several rituals. The rituals of onmyōdō consisted of large, medium, and small rituals, and it seems that they were used in different ways depending on the situation.

Among the representative rituals of onmyōdō are the Festival of the Great Emperor of the Sacred Mountain of the East, which is held to honor Dongyue Dadi, the ruler of human life, and the Festival of the Deva and Naraka, which was held every time an Emperor ascended to the throne. The "Bunkanshō" also mentions that there were various other onmyōdō rituals. The texts of some of these rituals are still extant.

In media[edit]

Books[edit]

Teito Monogatari, written by Hiroshi Aramata, published in 1985
Onmyōji, written by Baku Yumemakura, published in 1988
The Summer of the Ubume, Mōryō no Hako and other Kyōgokudō series, written by Natsuhiko Kyogoku, published in 1994
Onmyō no Miyako, written by Soichiro Watase, published in 2001
Shōnen Onmyōji, written by Mitsuru Yūki, published in 2001
Rental Magica, written by Makoto Sanda, published in 2004
Bakemonogatari [ja], written by Nisio Isin, published in 2005
Fairy Navigator Runa, written by Miyoko Ikeda, published in 2008
Tokyo Ravens, written by Kōhei Azano, published in 2010

Manga and anime[edit]

Tokyo Babylon, written by Clamp, published in 1990
X, written by Clamp, published in 1992
Shaman King, written by Hiroyuki Takei, published in 1998
Gag Manga Biyori, written by Kōsuke Masuda, published in 2000
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, created by Gainax, published in 2001
Amatsuki, written by Shinobu Takayama, published in 2002
Gin Tama, written by Hideaki Sorachi, published in 2003
xxxHolic, written by Clamp, published in 2003
Onmyō Taisenki, written by Yoshihiko Tomizawa, published in 2003
Musashi Gundoh, based on an unused story by Monkey Punch, published in 2006
Shibariya Komachi, written by Mick Takeuchi, published in 2006
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, written by Hiroshi Shiibashi, published in 2008
Twin Star Exorcists, written by Yoshiaki Sukeno, published in 2013
The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World, written by Kiichi Kosuzu, published in 2018
MAO, written by Rumiko Takahashi, published in 2019

Films[edit]

Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis, a 1988 Japanese fantasy film directed by Akio Jissōji, based on the novel Teito Monogatari by Hiroshi Aramata
Onmyōji (film), a 2001 Japanese film based on the Onmyōji (novel series), by Baku Yumemakura and released in the U.S. in 2003 as Onmyōji - The Yin Yang Master
- Onmyōji 2, the 2003 sequel
The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity, a 2020 Chinese fantasy film based on the Onmyōji (novel series), by Baku Yumemakura directed by Guo Jingming, and starring Mark Chao and Deng Lun
The Yinyang Master, a 2021 Chinese fantasy film directed by Li Weiran, and starring Chen Kun, Zhou Xun and William Chan based on the game that was based on the Onmyōji (novel series), by Baku Yumemakura

Video games[edit]

Kuon no Kizuna, developed by FOG Inc., released in 1998
Tokyo Majin Gakuen, produced by Shūhō Imai, released in 1998
Kuon, developed by FromSoftware, released in 2004
11eyes: Tsumi to Batsu to Aganai no Shōjo, developed by Lass, released in 2008
Naraka: Bladepoint, developed by 24 Entertainment, released in 2021 features the character Kurumi Tsuchimikado, who according to game lore is the first female Onmyōji, descended from a long line of Onmyōdō masters.^[1]

Footnotes[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

↑ "Naraka: Bladepoint - New Hero Out Now!".

Further reading[edit]

Murakami, Shūichi, ed. (1981). 日本陰陽道史総説 [A Review of the History of Onmyōdō in Japan] (in 日本語). Hanawa Shobō. ISBN 4827310572. Search this book on
Endō, Katsumi (1994). 近世陰陽道史の研究 [Studies in the History of Early Modern Onmyōdō] (in Japanese). Shin Jinbutsu Ōrai Sha. ISBN 4404021569.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Kosaka, Shinji (2004). 安倍晴明撰『占事略決』と陰陽道 [Abe no Seimei's "Senji Ryakketsu" and Onmyōdō] (in Japanese). Kyūko Shoin. ISBN 9784762941672.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Saitō, Rei (2007). 王朝時代の陰陽道 [Onmyōdō in the Dynastic Period] (in Japanese). Meicho Kankō Kai. ISBN 978-4839003302.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Yamashita, Katsuaki (1996). 平安時代の宗教文化と陰陽道 [Religious Culture in the Heian Period and Onmyōdō] (in Japanese). Iwata Shoin. ISBN 4900697656.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Takahashi, Keiya (2000). 現代・陰陽師入門 [Introduction to Modern Onmyōji] (in Japanese). Asahi Sonorama. ISBN 4257035846.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Nakamura, Shōhachi (2000). 日本陰陽道書の研究増補版 [A Study of the Onmyō Books in Japan; Expanded Edition] (in Japanese). Kyūko Shoin. ISBN 4257035846.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Suzuki, Ikkei (2002). 陰陽道呪術と鬼神の世界 [Onmyōdō: The World of Spells and Demons] (in Japanese). Kōdansha. ISBN 9784062582445.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Seimei Shrine, ed. (2002). 安倍晴明公 [The Right Honorable Abe no Seimei] (in Japanese). Kōdansha. ISBN 9784062109833.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Hayashi, Jun; Koike, Jun'ichi (2002). 陰陽道の講義 [Lecture on Onmyōdō] (in Japanese). Sagano Shoin. ISBN 4782303610.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Shigeta, Shin'ichi (2005). 平安貴族と陰陽師 [Heian Nobles and Onmyōji] (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbun Kan. ISBN 4642079424.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Hayashi, Jun (2005). 近世陰陽道の研究 [A Study of Early Modern Onmyōdō] (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbun Kan. ISBN 4642034072.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Shigeta, Shin'ichi (2006). 陰陽師 [Onmyōji] (in Japanese). Chūōkōron-Shinsha. ISBN 4121018443.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Murakami, Shūichi, ed. (2017). 陰陽道叢書 1 古代 [Onmyōdō Series 1: The Ancient Times] (in Japanese). Hanawa Shobō. ISBN 978-4626017970.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Murakami, Shūichi, ed. (2017). 陰陽道叢書 2 中世 [Onmyōdō Series 2: The Middle Ages] (in Japanese). Hanawa Shobō. ISBN 978-4626017987.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Murakami, Shūichi, ed. (2017). 陰陽道叢書 3 近世 [Onmyōdō Series 3: The Early Modern Period] (in Japanese). Hanawa Shobō. ISBN 978-4626017994.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on
Murakami, Shūichi, ed. (2017). 陰陽道叢書 4 特論 [Onmyōdō Series 4: The Advanced Studies] (in Japanese). Hanawa Shobō. ISBN 978-4626018007.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on

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[1] "Naraka: Bladepoint - New Hero Out Now!".

[1]