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The History Of the Onmyouji

Onymoudo, the art of Yin-Yang magic originated in China, where it was passed on through Buddhism to Japan in the 5th or 6th Century. It included the study of Taoist elements, including the 5 elements, divination, astrology and calendar-making. Japanese Emperor's, believing the fortune telling talents of the Onmyouji to be true, entrusted the lives of the people in the hands of Onmyoudo divination.

With the implementation of the ritsuryo system law codes in the 7th and 8th centuries, yin-yang techniques were put under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Onmyō (陰陽寮, Onmyō-ryō?) in the Nakatsukasa Department (中務省, Nakatsukasa-shō?) of the Imperial bureaucracy. The Bureau of Onmyō was responsible for overseeing the divinations of Onmyōdō, astrological observations, and the creation of calendars. Also, by law the Buddhist clergy was forbidden to practice astrology and fortune-telling; hence, government-controlled onmyōji came to monopolize the practice.

From the Heian period onward, as the ritsuryo system relaxed and the Fujiwara family rose to power, the society of the Imperial court took on a more formal shape, and adherence to rituals to placate the souls of the dead (御霊信仰, Goryō Shinkō?) to combat the creation of vengeful ghosts (怨霊, onryō?) burgeoned. Because onmyōji displayed methods that could avert disasters with their skills of divination and magic, the superstition afforded onmyōji influence over the personal lives of the Emperor and the nobility of the court. Consequently, popular awareness of onmyōdō gradually spread from court society to Japanese society as a whole, strengthening its development into a characteristically Japanese art.

The Principles of Onmyoudo

Onmyoudo is based heavily around the Yin and the Yang, the dark and light sides of Ki and how they balance it in order to create spells and summon demons. Another heavy principle is the symbol of the onmyouji:



The Star of Destruction

This star represents the relationship between the elements and how they destroy and counter each other. The the same way Water dowses Fire, Earth absorbs Water and Wood feeds on the Earth, the nature of the star demonstrates how nature inherently counters itself in a constant circle of power.



The Circle of Life

This circle represents the relationship between the elements and how they thrive off of each other. Wood naturally feeds Fire, while Fire ceases and becomes Earth and Earth serve as a catalyst for Metal, the nature of circle demonstrates how nature will recreate itself in this cycle of rebirth.


Onmyoudo: A Balancing Act

The Art of Onmyoudo is very literally all about the balancing of the physical and the spiritual; of heaven and earth. The basics of Onymoudo require the creation of both the Soft and Hard types of Ki, created through intense meditation and religious rituals. The controlling and summoning of demons requires offering Ki to the gods in order to call them down, similar to the pactio system of Western Magic, where they Onmyoudo(Soft) and the Shikigami (Hard) maintain a careful balance.

In higher level spells, even the subtle balance of both Magic and Ki are needed in order to cast higher level spells. While not quite Ki fusion, the theory behind they balance is that the Magic energy accelerates the Ki energy, thereby increasing the spells strength.


Shikigami, Zenki, Goki, Oni and Kishin

The true skill the Onmyouji is the ability to bring spirits of nature in order to defend and fight against the spirits of the dead, these guards were call Goryo.
The establishment of this contract and the tactics of having a Goryo to defend and attack lead to the creation of the Zenki-Goki system. Goki were generally simple Goryo that were extremely loyal to the user, willing to defend them from further attacks. Zenki were stronger, more battle-oriented Goryo or Oni that focused entirely on battling and fighting for an Onymouji.

Other variations of Goryo were Oni, spirits of a malevolent nature that were much antagonistic and trained fighters. Some Oni were incredibly smart and had special abilities, making for great allies to the Onymouji as Zenki. Another powerful form of spirit was the Kishin, a demi-god with monstrous powers, they're will was so strong that they could not be entirely killed and would regenerate given enough time.


The Onmyouji, masters of balance and summoning, survive today as a throwback to ancient japanese spiritualism that has evolved into the present day in order to serve as combat ready casters and summoners.