Onmyodo Monogatari (Japanese Heian-era fantasy)

Life is pleasurable, as the days go on you spent your time like any other youth. In the heat of summer you often made you way through the more unconventional pathways of the place, often to Jun-dono and Jun-dono great concern. It was during this solo adventures you taught yourself the how to avoid people. The end results of your actions brought you extra sweets many a time.

You managed to find your way nearly everywhere in the palace complex, save for the inner residence of the imperial family - which you were, in fact, often running away from, playing in the garden as your mother entertained one of the empresses, Soshi, her friend.
During your excursions, you mainly learned your way around the imperial gardens and the various wings of the imperial palace; particularly the inner palace.

You found many interesting places by creeping between rose bushes, small places of beauty, or old paths used by servants but fallen into disuse. You found many pretty parts of the palace gardens, overgrown and old, but pretty nontheless, wilder than other parts.
A few times, you snuck into the kitchens, where servants would bribe you with sweets to get you to return to your mother - which, of course, meant you kept comming there until they cottoned on.
One of them, a young man named Hiyabashi-dono, was always the one to lead you back to Jun-san, who would apologize profusely and reprimand you strongly once out of sight of Hiyabashi-dono.
At other times, you snuck into various parts of the palace itself, where noblemen and women were gossiping, holding contests, writing poetry, drinking, and so on, only to have to leg it and get away once discovered - usually by a servant adamant to get you back to your minders.



A few times during your exploration of the inner palace, you also snuck into the Chuwain, a religious building separate from the rest of it, but within the enclosure of the inner palace. The first time you got into it, a priest named Urabe no Shousuke told you in no uncertain terms that you had to stay quiet and out of the way, but it was a pleasant enough place, and full of a sense of… peace. Quiet. Nowhere in the palace is truly noisy, outside of special occasions, but even then, it was like this place had a sort of quiet you didn't know anywhere else.

Other times, you snuck out of the inner palace, out into the outer place, where auxiliary staff lived, and where there were lesser ministries, officies, storehouses, and other functional buildings. Except for the En no Matubara, a large pine grove, the place was generally boring, made exiting only by Jun-dono's constant worrying about how unsafe it was.


You only felt unsafe once, when you snuck into the unused burakuin enclosure. It was late, in the evening, and you'd snuck away after playing in the evening, and been found by a palace attendant out in the outer palace, and you snuck into the burakuin, a large enclosure with a unused building, to escape them, and ran into the building, suppressing a laughter as you hid from the attendant. After a few minutes of hiding in an old, empty building, however, something changed. Everything turned darker, and you saw tiny… things begin to move across the floor, most no larger than a few fingers tall.

As soon as they saw you, they began laughing - a strange, screeching, mocking sound, and dancing around you, mocking you.

"Scared child, crying child!" they mocked. "Little tasty-looking child," said one of the women-looking things, showing her fangs, and another completed her sentence "We're gonna eat you up!"

"Eat you all up!" echoed the rest, laughing as you fell to the floor.

"You better run before we decide - fingers or toes first? Your eyes looks tasty too!" rhasped one, a larger one, as big as your arm - and with a smile as wide as your own.

At that, you finally got on your feet and ran of, their laughter echoing behind you. The palace attendant was very surprised to find you crying and scared for your life, but quickly got you back to your minders.
Since then you kept to the inner palace.


You spent most of your time when you weren't studying - or running off - by the largest lake in the Palace Gardens. Jun-dono and Jun-dono did their best to keep you away from it, but it was beautiful and peaceful, and your friend was there, a very pretty girl in an ornate kimono that never seemed to get dirty or wet. She always avoided telling you her name, or where she lives, and when you ask your mother or the servants about her, they tell you there's no one there and to stay away from the lake.



One day, you arrive at the lake and don't see her. Odd, she's usually around waiting for you. There's a tree that overhangs the lake that she usually sat in. Perhaps she's just late? Wouldn't it be amusing to her to arrive and find you in her perch? Besides, it might be a good view. You wandered to the base of the tree and gave it a shake. It seems sturdy enough to climb, and you pulled yourself up into it. At first there were plenty of hand-and-foot-holds, and you made it quite far into the canopy. You peered through the leaves and discovered it really is a great view, you could see most of the lake from there. Even better, you saw the koi in the pond swimming around right below you.

It dawned on you that being over the water might be a bad idea about the same time as the branch you're on snaped. Fear gripped you, but you were already falling. You could almost feel the slimy bodies of the fish, taste the algae in the water
… but then, a sudden STRONG wind, and a warm, dusty scent, like Mother, but older…

The next thing you know, you were on a mossy rock, on your back, staring up into the other side of the tree you just fell out of. Was that a dream? But you're covered in broken twigs and leaves, and when you sit up and look at the lake, a branch floats on the surface, surrounded by the ripples of hungry fish.

"Dear young master, are you okay?"

How does she always appear behind you? You turned around quickly, and your friend is there, her kimono still immaculate, but she looked.. concerned, and maybe a little sad? Or worried? Questions swirled in your mind, but all you managed to say was "What happened?"

The girl sits on a rock next to you. "I didn't expect you to climb my tree, but I suppose one should expect the unexpected from the human world, especially with children. Ah, it's been such a long time... In any case, I was able to save you."
"Save me?" you ask. But.. the wind, you thought -
She smiles and laughs. "Why yes, i conjured up a miiighty wind!" she says, laughing it off as a joke.
You start to question it, but before you finish, she pulls out something from inside her robes

"I've got sweets!" she says, and hands her one, and you forget about the strangeness.
Soon,, you hear someone announcing the Hour of the Monkey. It's already late in the day, and someone will be looking for you, soon. The girl smiles sadly and shoos you off. "The palace will be upset if they find that you were playing here, and worse if they discover what happened. Go, quickly. And please, be more careful, young master," she says, reverting to the more serious tone of earlier. "Oh, and you can call me Tsuzura - feel free to call if you need me - who knows, i might hear you!"


It isn't long after that, a two weeks before the 7th new year of your life, that your mother called you to her. One morning. You found her in one of her rooms, behind a portable, see-through bamboo screen, on the right side of the room, and your father, Abe no Yoshihira, on the left. You sat down in front of them and bowed deeply, as is required.

Your mother spoke first.
"Kogitsunemaru. We have decided that it is time for you to start your formal training and education. Starting in the new year, you will begin following in your father's footsteps."

Yoshihara continued.
"Born into the Abe family, you have a special gift; the second sight, the Kenki ability. It's been passed down from my father to me, and from me to you. It is what allows us to see spirits, ghosts and demons. You may well have seen some already, unknowing. But such abilities also make you vulnerable to spirits and demons, and can lead you to trouble by showing you what you cannot deal with. That is why you will follow in the footsteps of your family, and become an onmyoji. So you will be able to handle your gifts, and be protected from those evil spirits which might target you for them."

Your mother spoke again.
"You're lucky to be born into the abe family with such gifts. Many who have them never known what they see, and drift about, confused, always uncertain, and easy target for demons and monsters."

Yoshihara spoke.
"Therefore, the first day of the new year, I will be your teacher. I look forward to teaching you, and to spending more time with you, my son. Jun-san will, of course, continue to mind you when I cannot, and you will continue living here."

And with that, that was decided. The first day of the new year, you go, with your minder, to the Abe residence. Here, you officially asked for entrance, and your father performed a ritual cleansing, a series of ritual steps, to prepare the house for you. You entered, and began your long and difficult training as an onmyoji.

What areas of study did you excel at, early on?
[ ]: Calligraphy and writing. Writing beautifully is very important in heian society, and it is believed that a person's character and soul can be seen in their skill at calligraphy. A letter written in beautiful characters will always matter more than a letter that is merely functional; and a poem, ugly written, will be considered far beneath a lesser poem, beautifully written.

[ ]: Chinese and the reading of chinese classics. While chinese is no longer quite so fashionable as it was a century ago, it is still an expected skill of young noblemen like you. Reading dusty chinese books on philosophy, ying/yang science, the five elements and buddhism is also a required and necessary skill in the study of onmyodo.

[ ]: Poetry and art. While not a major focus of your studies, every young man of good birth is required to learn how to compose beautiful poems, which form the basis of nearly every form of formal social interaction, from courtship to seeking allies to simply connecting with friends.

[ ]: Calculation and memorization of the stars and planets, their meanings, and their relations to the days and the calendar. This includes some math and astronomy, at a very basic level, yet, but also a large amount of rote memorization and repetition, skills that will be useful in any art you might study later. Calender keeping is also important in choosing the right day for important court rituals, life rituals, and the magico-religious rituals of Onmyodo.

[ ]: The study of the sutras, the buddhist holy texts. While not strictly a part of the arts of onmyodo, the sutras are still studied, as they contain great and useful wisdom, and their recitation can help banish demons and evil influences, which is among the skills required of an Onmyoji. Even with no relevance to your education, however, the sutras would still be studied, as they are the best source on ethics and the nature of the world and the divine wisdom of the buddhas.

After studying a few years, your studies slowly began deepening, and your father begins covering more technical and mystical subjects, subjects that you will be expected to know and master before you can really be called an onmyoji, in addition to the more basic subjects of poetry, chinese, calligraphy and so on. You studied all of these, of course, and began achieving some skill in every aspect, but even so, you excelled more in some than in others.


Which of these did you excel at?

[ ]: Meditation and breathing exercises aimed at honing and expanding your mind, and making you more aware of supernatural energies and spirits. The exercises als focus on calming you down, and sorting through your emotions and thoughts to clear your mind and focus your will. While not all onmyoji deal with demons directly, your father emphasizes that if you plan on doing so, you will need a strong will and the ability to keep your mind clear from the lies of evil, deceitful spirits.
The exercises themselves usually const of simple meditation and breathing exercises, sitting, crossed-legged, and focusing on nothing but your breath for hours on end, but are sometimes accompanied by the recitation of sutras or the repeated chanting of mantras. Now and then, your father would take you places, to shrines particularly, and have you close your eyes and try identifying spirits around you or the energies around you.

[ ]: Divination by way of the stars, that is, astronomy and astrology. By observing the stars, using astronomical tools like a bronze armillary sphere, and referring to books on astronomy, I learned to predict the future for people, places, families, and the world in general. This is an exceedingly technical skill, moreso than a purely mystical one, but is nevertheless of the more commonly used skills among onmyoji, as divination of every kind is in high demand at the Heian courts.

[ ]: The study of ying-yang theories and five elements lore. These are abstract, difficult and technical subjects, but are necessary for the most advanced forms of divination, and underlie and support all other subject an onmyoji is supposed to master. In practice, it requires a lot of reading and understanding of complicated texts on metaphysics and philosophy, and he use of sliding chinese instruments of divination, the full use of which can take a lifetime to master.

[ ]: The recitation of holy mantras and the use of mudras, holy gestures with one or both hands, to repel and defeat evil spirits, demons, ghost and other monsters. This means learning and training to use a large number of gestures, including the nine symbolic cuts, a set of syllables and mantras, as well as their associated mudras, specific sutras and prayers for a variety of different kinds of ghost and demons and other circumstance. As i studied, however, my father warned by that many of these could be dangerous to use if i was underprepared or used one which was too advanced or too powerful for me to handle.

[ ]: The recitation of holy mantras and the use of mudras, but mantras and mudras for the cleansing disease and sickness of mind and body, not the exorcism and defeat of evil spirits.

[ ]: The recitation of holy mantras and the use of mudras, but mantras and mudras for the protection and blessing of myself and others, as well as the places they live in or spaces they occupy.

[ ]: The study and use of Harae, rituals of cleansing and land-quelling. These are among the most important skills of an onmyoji. Harae dispel curses and bad fortune, and cleanse places and people tainted by evil or disease; people who've just recovered from illness or have been otherwise made impure, or places where people have been sick, died, or where crimes and sin have been committed. They are also used to cleanse and repel evil energies and misfortune from new or unused places, such as a new wing of a building, or a home no one has lived in for some time; these rituals are important for the spiritual well-being of people and the proper order of society.

[ ]: The preparation and blessing of ofuda and omamori, small paper talismans used for blessing, protection, good luck, sealing away and a number of other uses. Onmyoji may also use them as part of rituals of banishment, exorcism and other spells. This involves very carefully, and beautifully, writing the correct prayers and mantras on paper or silk talismans, and blessing them with rituals and the invocation of the right divine spirits and patrons. That said. The training itself consists mostly of writing the same prayers and mantras over and over and over again, focusing on their meaning, as well as studying the rituals of their blessing and empowerment.

[ ]: The rituals of summoning and communing with spirits and ghosts. These allow a practitioner to speak with hidden or trapped spirits, and summon forth gods and spirits to help with a particular task, and even bind them as shikigami, a role somewhere between patron spirit and familiar. While communing with spirits is a necessary part of nearly every Onmyoji's life and work, the summoning of spirits is a tightly controlled practice, and misuse of it in the form of necromancy or other improper acts can result in severe censure from the Onmyoryo, the bureau of divination.


You may ask questions of your parents and minders