Kamo no Yasunori
Encyclopedia
Kamo no Yasunori was an onmyōji, a practitioner of onmyōdō
, during the Heian period
in Japan
. He was considered the premier onmyōji of his time.
Yasunori was the son of the onmyōji Kamo no Tadayuki. According to a tale in the Konjaku Monogatarishu
, at the age of ten, Yasunori accompanied his father to an exorcism, where he was able to perceive the demons
— a sign of talent, for, unlike Tadayuki, Yasunori was capable of doing so without formal training.
He later taught Abe no Seimei
the art of onmyōdō. Seimei became his successor in astrology and divination, while Yasunori's son succeeded him in the creation of the calendar, a lesser task. For several centuries afterward, the Abe clan controlled the government ministry of onmyōdō, while the Kamo clan became hereditary keepers of the calendar.
Yasunori's second daughter
became an acclaimed poet.
Yasunori's death is a driving plot element in the kabuki
play Ashiya Dōman Ōuchi Kagami (A Courtly Mirror of Ashiya Dōman). In the play, he is the owner of the Kin'u Gyokuto Shū, a book of divination passed down from a Chinese wizard. He intends to marry his adopted daughter to his disciple Abe no Yasuna, the father of Abe no Seimei, and to give the book to him, but he dies before doing so. This sets the stage for a conflict between Ashiya Michitaru (as Dōman is called in the play) and Abe no Yasuna over ownership of the book.
Onmyodo
is a traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology, a mixture of natural science and occultism. It is based on the Chinese philosophies of Wu Xing and Yin and yang, introduced into Japan at the turn of the 6th century, and accepted as a practical system of divination...
, during the Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He was considered the premier onmyōji of his time.
Yasunori was the son of the onmyōji Kamo no Tadayuki. According to a tale in the Konjaku Monogatarishu
Konjaku Monogatarishu
is a Japanese collection of over one thousand tales written during the late Heian period . The entire collection was originally contained in 31 volumes, of which only 28 remain today...
, at the age of ten, Yasunori accompanied his father to an exorcism, where he was able to perceive the demons
Yōkai
are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "otherworldly" and "weird". Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them...
— a sign of talent, for, unlike Tadayuki, Yasunori was capable of doing so without formal training.
He later taught Abe no Seimei
Abe no Seimei
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....
the art of onmyōdō. Seimei became his successor in astrology and divination, while Yasunori's son succeeded him in the creation of the calendar, a lesser task. For several centuries afterward, the Abe clan controlled the government ministry of onmyōdō, while the Kamo clan became hereditary keepers of the calendar.
Yasunori's second daughter
Kamo no Yasunori no musume
was the second daughter of the Heian period onmyōji Kamo no Yasunori. She lived during the tenth century. Her personal name is not known.In her youth, she suffered from a disease that marred her appearance. She became a prolific poet, earning a reputation for her talent. Many of her poems were...
became an acclaimed poet.
Yasunori's death is a driving plot element in the kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
play Ashiya Dōman Ōuchi Kagami (A Courtly Mirror of Ashiya Dōman). In the play, he is the owner of the Kin'u Gyokuto Shū, a book of divination passed down from a Chinese wizard. He intends to marry his adopted daughter to his disciple Abe no Yasuna, the father of Abe no Seimei, and to give the book to him, but he dies before doing so. This sets the stage for a conflict between Ashiya Michitaru (as Dōman is called in the play) and Abe no Yasuna over ownership of the book.