Draft:Twelve Directions

• Comment: Note: This draft started from a complete copy of Onmyōji as it has a lot of redlinks with claims I want to keep. I will trim down into just the claim on an individual thing laterImmanuelle ❤️💚💙 (talk to the cutest Wikipedian) 01:49, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

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

Overview

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

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. 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

Books

• 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, 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

• 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

• 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

• 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.

See also

• Abe no Seimei
• Da Liu Ren
• Goryō
• Itako
• Kuji-in
• Onmyōdō
• Sanpaku
• Seimei Shrine
• Senji Ryakketsu
• Shikigami
• Shinigami
• Tengenjutsu (fortune telling)
• Ushi no toki mairi

Further reading

• Murakami, Shūichi, ed. (1981). 日本陰陽道史総説 [A Review of the History of Onmyōdō in Japan] (in Japanese). Hanawa Shobō. ISBN 4827310572.
• 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.
• 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.
• Saitō, Rei (2007). 王朝時代の陰陽道 [Onmyōdō in the Dynastic Period] (in Japanese). Meicho Kankō Kai. ISBN 978-4839003302.
• 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.
• Takahashi, Keiya (2000). 現代・陰陽師入門 [Introduction to Modern Onmyōji] (in Japanese). Asahi Sonorama. ISBN 4257035846.
• 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.
• 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.
• Seimei Shrine, ed. (2002). 安倍晴明公 [The Right Honorable Abe no Seimei] (in Japanese). Kōdansha. ISBN 9784062109833.
• Hayashi, Jun; Koike, Jun'ichi (2002). 陰陽道の講義 [Lecture on Onmyōdō] (in Japanese). Sagano Shoin. ISBN 4782303610.
• Shigeta, Shin'ichi (2005). 平安貴族と陰陽師 [Heian Nobles and Onmyōji] (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbun Kan. ISBN 4642079424.
• Hayashi, Jun (2005). 近世陰陽道の研究 [A Study of Early Modern Onmyōdō] (in Japanese). Yoshikawa Kōbun Kan. ISBN 4642034072.
• Shigeta, Shin'ichi (2006). 陰陽師 [Onmyōji] (in Japanese). Chūōkōron-Shinsha. ISBN 4121018443.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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Categories:

• Onmyōji
• Divination
• Esoteric cosmology
• Taoism in Japan
• Religion in Japan
• Pages with unreviewed translations