#Abe no Seimei (安倍晴明)
Contents
Fiction-Only + Canon (limited to fc04 internally). The Lord-grade sheet in this document is Canon limited to fc04 internally — on conflict with the
co-04-07-04-onmyoji.mdonmyoji class core, the main work takes precedence.
#Opening Fragment — The Unseen Guest
Entering Michinaga's bedchamber, Seimei first made a greeting. There was no one in the room but the master. Seeing this, the attendant felt a chill run down his back.
"Whom are you greeting?" the attendant asked.
Folding a talisman, Seimei answered. "The guest I will ask to leave."
Michinaga swallowed a cough. "Can you drive it out?"
"Driving it out is easy. The question is who let it in." Seimei looked at the incense burner in the corner of the bedchamber. "The incense is too sweet. Sweet things do not call only people."
The attendant's face hardened. "Then is there a culprit?"
Seimei shook his head. "The word 'culprit' is convenient for humans. Tonight I will first close the passage of darkness. The sin of a person can be asked afterward without being too late."
When he affixed the talisman, the air in the room grew a little lighter. It was as though the guest no one had seen had withdrawn with all due courtesy.
#Scent — The One Who Purifies the Darkness of the Bedchamber
A spring night in the 4th year of Choho (長保). The bedchamber of Fujiwara no Michinaga. At the hour when the scent of fine tea is growing cold, Michinaga cannot fall asleep. From somewhere on the ceiling a black current descends. It has no form. Yet one cannot help but see it.
Michinaga summons a person. There is only one such person.
Seimei enters. His stature is small and his back somewhat bent, and only his eyes are deeply alive. He sits in the center of the bedchamber. He holds neither talisman nor blade. He chants only a single mantra. A brief sound of which one cannot tell whether it is heard or not.
The black current halts. One breath, two breaths. It slowly slips away. It returns to the place from which it came.
Michinaga sleeps. Seimei rises from his seat. Before leaving the bedchamber he looks once at the ceiling. There — a single shikigami hangs. It is Seimei's own.
"Well done," he says. "Tomorrow night as well."
#Core Data
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Abe no Seimei (安倍晴明) |
| Lifespan | 921~1005 (age 84) |
| Era | Heian mid-period peak |
| Activity | Service to 5 emperors: Murakami, Reizei, En'yu, Kazan, Ichijo |
| Affiliation | Onmyoryo (陰陽寮) → confidant of Fujiwara no Michinaga |
| School | Seimei-school Onmyodo (orthodox) |
| After Death | Succeeded by the Tsuchimikado house |
#Life
#Birth Legend
There is a legend that Seimei's mother was not a human but a white fox (白狐). A fox that lodged in a certain shrine of Kawachi (or Settsu) formed a bond in human form with an onmyoji, and what was born between them was Seimei — a later embellishment, but the most famous tale explaining Seimei's extraordinariness.
This volume neither denies nor affirms this legend. Who Seimei's mother was is left as a part of his mystery.
#Initiation as an Onmyoji
His true initiation begins with becoming the disciple of Kamo no Tadayuki (賀茂忠行). Kamo was the master of the onmyoji of his age. There is a tale of young Seimei, following a procession, noticing the Hyakki Yako and informing Kamo — the first sign of "one who can see."
#Service to 5 Emperors
Seimei served across the five reigns of the emperors Murakami, Reizei, En'yu, Kazan, and Ichijo. It was possible only because he lived to nearly ninety. The era of Ichijo, the last emperor he served (986~1011), overlapped with the peak of Fujiwara no Michinaga, and Seimei became his closest spiritual advisor.
#Lifelong Cooperation with Michinaga
Several tales remain that Seimei often purified the darkness that lodged in Michinaga's bedchamber. The name of Seimei appears repeatedly even in Michinaga's diary, the Mido Kanpaku-ki (御堂関白記). That an onmyoji stood at the side of the one at the peak of power — this is a scene of the Heian peak period.
#Tales
#The 12 Shikigami
The legend of the twelve shikigami (式神) Seimei is said to command is the most famous depiction. In daily life he kept one or two shikigami at his side, and called all twelve when needed. The "Ichijo Modoribashi (一条戻り橋)" tale, in which he placed shikigami beneath a bridge, also comes from here.
#The Wife Who Feared the Shikigami
A tale that Seimei's wife feared the shikigami and would not let them into her quarters. Seimei called the shikigami only when going out, and on returning home left them beneath the bridge before entering — a fragment of the household affairs of the great onmyoji.
#"Who Will Die Today"
When one who came to test Seimei asked, "Who will die today," Seimei answered the name of a single person. That person truly dies that day — a tale emphasizing the accuracy of divination. In later times, however, a dark variant in which "Seimei killed that person himself" also appears.
#Relationship with Doman
Seimei's rival is Ashiya Doman (蘆屋道満). Doman is the representative of the Doman-school heterodox Onmyodo — for details, see fc04-02-03-onmyodo.md.
In legend, both of the following tales exist between Seimei and Doman — which is the true one is not clear.
- The tale in which Seimei killed Doman — Doman, testing Seimei with his arts, is defeated and killed.
- The tale in which Doman killed Seimei — Seimei died, fallen to Doman's arts, but another onmyoji revived him.
This volume's treatment: both are treated as real, as the representative figures of the two schools. The direct-conflict tales take the form of nightly tales — not fixing which is the answer, but placing them as two variants the campaign's GM may adopt.
#Death and Posterity
Seimei died in 1005 at the age of 84. Thereafter the head house of Onmyodo continued into the Tsuchimikado (土御門) house — his descendants. The Tsuchimikado house laid claim to the orthodoxy of Japanese Onmyodo across the late Heian, Kamakura, Sengoku, and Edo periods.
Seimei survived into posterity more than anyone else alive in his own age. From the transmissions after Kamakura, to the ukiyo-e of Edo, to modern J-horror, manga, and novels (Yumemakura Baku's Onmyoji and the like) — he reappears endlessly as the byword for the Japanese onmyoji.
What this volume fc04 treats is not that posterity-variant but the figure of the man himself, who lived in the Heian period. Setting the fantasies of posterity aside for a moment, we look directly at the 84 years of 921~1005.
#Character Sheet (Canon — limited to fc04 internally)
Canon (limited to fc04 internally). This sheet is for this volume's campaign. On conflict with the
coonmyoji class core, the main work takes precedence.
Abe no Seimei — Main class Onmyoji 10-dan (or 9-dan + borrowed Scholar technique)
Wounds: 5 (3 + Physique 1 + Tough 1)
Defense: 13 (court robes · Barrier correction)
Energy: 13 (10 + Finesse 3)
Attributes: Wisdom +3, Presence +3, Fate +2, Finesse +3, Physique +1, Courage +0
School: Seimei-school Onmyodo (orthodox, Licensed + secret art)
Domination contribution: +5#Main Techniques
- Shikigami Command (Onmyoji 1-dan automatic) — 1 shikigami always accompanying
- Master of the Barrier (own License) — Barrier casting Energy -1 discount
- Divination (Onmyoji 5-dan choice) — 1 time per scenario, 1 tier of GM information
- Immovable Formation (Onmyoji 7-dan choice) — forced movement of self/allies nullified
- Tough (Physique correction) — Wounds calculation +1
#Signature — 12 Shikigami Array
Unique technique. Seimei's secret art alone. No onmyoji PC outside this volume may use it.
| Technique | Type | Energy | Limit | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Shikigami Array | upkeep | Energy 6 | 1 per battle | Summons 12 shikigami simultaneously. The 12 act as a single squad (the squad effect of Yorimitsu's 4 Heavenly Kings class, for 1 battle). All dissipate on termination. |
| Mantra Strike | Form (Wisdom) | Energy 3 | — | 2d10+Wisdom+Yin-Yang >= Defense. On hit 2 Wounds. Yoma-only additional N Wounds (N = the caster's Yin-Yang mastery). A direct strike to the spiritual essence. |
| Shikigami's Sight | aptitude | Energy 1 | — | Ranged sight through 1 accompanying shikigami. Regardless of movement distance. Maintained for 1 breath. |
#Scenario Use — "To Fight / To Serve Seimei"
Seimei is not a swordmaster (he is an onmyoji). Yet the "to fight / to serve" format of the fc03 Swordmaster Chronicles applies as-is.
#To Fight Seimei
One of the most powerful targets among this volume's NPCs. A head-on confrontation is nearly impossible. One of the following three routes is needed:
- Shikigami dispersal — so the 12 do not gather at once. Use one person's position as bait to disperse the shikigami, and exhaust the Energy of the main Seimei.
- Breaking the Barrier — Seimei's dwelling holds his own Barrier. Within the Barrier, casting Energy is discounted by -1 (Target Number 13, hard). He must be drawn outside the Barrier.
- The Doman school's counter-Sorcery — the most direct method. Place a Doman-school onmyoji as ally or enemy, and break Seimei's Barrier with his counter-Sorcery.
For a PC alone it is difficult. A squad operation + Doman-school alliance + a duel scenario lasting over an hour is needed.
#To Serve Seimei as a Master
When a PC is an aspiring onmyoji.
- Onmyoji class + orthodox morality — a main-class onmyoji PC. A black-hearted or demon-hearted PC is refused.
- Fujiwara-side connections — a recommendation from the Michinaga house or its confidants is needed.
- Divination test — Seimei reads a divination for the PC and sees "whether this one is suited to Onmyodo" (Target Number 17, extreme, 2d10+Wisdom+Presence). Even on failure, one more chance.
On success: the PC becomes Seimei's formal disciple. They may be taught some of the secret arts of the Seimei-school additional Sorcery — for details, see the "School Privileges" of fc04-05-03-onmyodo-seimei.md.
#Demon-Reincarnation Alignment
The 5 heroic spirits of co-09-adventures/co-09-10-mahoujin-reincarnation.md are all swordmasters, and Seimei does not appear.
However, that scenario's sorcerer Aburatsuka Genzo is the model of the Doman-school variant: "Main class 7-dan (composite career) — borrowed Onmyoji, Shikome-no-Tsukai, and Yorijin techniques." He is compatible as the Sengoku-period variant of this volume's fc04-05-04 Doman-school NPC design.
#In One Line
"The shikigami he calls cannot be seen, but the darkness he purifies vanishes unseen."
#References
#co — Class・Scenario
co-04-character/co-04-07-classes/co-04-07-04-onmyoji.md— the onmyoji class coreco-09-adventures/co-09-10-mahoujin-reincarnation.md— Demon Reincarnation (the 5 heroic spirits are swordmasters. Seimei does not appear. Sorcerer "Aburatsuka Genzo" = main class 7-dan composite career — the model of the Doman-school variant)
#ex2 — Yin-Yang Spells
ex2-35-spell-system/ex2-35-03~ex2-35-08— Yin-Yang 1-dan to Tatsujinex2-35-spell-system/ex2-35-15-barrier-spells.md— Barrierex2-35-spell-system/ex2-35-16-prophecy-spells.md— divination・Prophecy
#fc Preceding Volumes
fc01-04-00-divine-regalia-and-rites.md— Divine Treasures・Sorcery (divine entrustment, etc.)
#Within fc04
fc04-02-03-onmyodo.md— Onmyodo overviewfc04-05-03-onmyodo-seimei.md— Seimei-school additional Sorceryfc04-04-03-tamamonomae.md— Tamamo-no-Mae (the unmasker Yasuchika is Seimei's 5th-generation descendant)
What Seimei left behind was not a talisman, but the method of reading darkness.