Onmyoji

Minamoto no Hiromasa [1] visited Abe no Seimei’s mansion at the beginning of Minazuki, the month of June in the lunar calendar [2]; in the modern reckoning, it might have been the tenth day of July. The rainy season hadn’t quite ended, yet, and it was a rare day where the constant rain had paused. However, the sun was still hidden, the sky painted a pale white as if it were covered by a sheet of origami paper. [3] 

It was early morning; the leaves and grass were fresh and wet with dew, the air pleasantly chilled. Minamoto no Hiromasa was walking with Seimei’s mansion to his right, gazing at the Tang Dynasty styled wall surrounding it [4]. Decorative carvings stretched from breast height upwards, reaching up to a karahafu style tiled roof. [5]

Hiromasa was wearing suikan with lacquered footwear [6] made with deer skin shavings. Innumerable drops of water were floating in the air, finer than mist. Simply walking down the street made the fabric heavier as water caught upon his clothes. 

Lord Minamoto no Hiromasa - a samurai. He wore his sword on his left hip, [7] and appeared to be in his late thirties. The way he walked, his bearing, had the rugged edge of a warrior, but his face was soft. His current expression was serious; he didn’t seem happy, he seemed… lonely. Something had him worried, chest tight with anxiety.

Hiromasa stood in front of the gate, which was thrown open wide. If one looked inside, a garden would be clearly visible. The seasonal grass across the garden was still wet from last night’s rain, overgrown and raw, the shade of deepest blue.

It seemed to be a broken down Buddhist temple. [8] A questioning expression rose to Hiromasa’s face. It was a wilderness, the garden barely maintained. Just then the sweet scent of flowers rose to Hiromasa’s nose. It wasn’t long before he understood why. In the midst of the grass stood an aged wisteria, a single branch of flowers still in bloom. [9]

“Have you really come home?” Hiromasa murmured. Hiromasa knew he liked to let the garden grow freely, but this was a bit much. As he sighed, a woman appeared suddenly, walking towards the main building of the compound. Despite being a woman, she wore a man’s uniform. [10] As she passed before Hiromasa, she lowered her head slightly.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” She said. She was a beautiful young woman, about twenty, with fine features. 

“Waiting?”

“The lord will see you now, Hiromasa-sama, I’ve come to guide you to him.”

Hiromasa followed her, wondering how she knew the way. They passed through the room.

Atop the tatami mats on the wooden floor, Seimei sat cross legged, scratching the mat, his eyes fixed on Hiromasa.

“You came - ” Seimei began.

“I knew it,” Hiromasa said, sitting down on the same tatami mat. 

“The one I sent to buy sake told me, I would see Hiromasa walking toward me.” 

“Sake?”

“I’ve not been in the capital for some time, so I wanted a drink. Hiromasa, how did you know I’d returned home?”

“Last night, something told me, the lights in Seimei’s residence would be lit today.”

“Ah, I see!” [11]

“Where did you go for nearly a month?”

“To Takano.”

“Takano?”

“Hmm.”

“For what reason did you leave again, and so suddenly -”

“There was something I didn’t understand.”

“Understand, what?”

“Rather, I had an idea. I’ve been speaking to Takano’s bald priest.” [12]

“What is it?” Hiromasa asked.

“But -” Seimei scratched his head, looking at Hiromasa. The two of them weren’t that old, though Seimei appeared to be younger. Not only that, but his appearance seemed perfectly ordered, the straight bridge of his nose, the lips flushed a light crimson. 

“But what?”

“You’re an honorable man, but you aren’t really interested in listening to this sort of thing.”

“What sort of thing are you talking about?”

“A curse.” Seimei said.

“Curse!?”

“I’ve talked about curses.”

“What about it?”

“For example, what is a curse?” 

“A curse is a curse, isn’t it?”

“Of course, but I hit upon what a curse really is.” 

“What did you come up with?” Hiromasa asked.

“Well, for instance, a curse is like a name.”

“A name?”

“Ah, never mind it, Hiromasa. It’s been such a long time since we last drank together -” Seimei smiled enticingly. [13] “I didn’t invite you to drink, but I won’t turn you away.”

“Well, I’ll keep you company.”

Seimei clapped his hands. The sound of fabric brushing the floor came from the hall, and a woman appeared with a tray in her hands, cups and a bottle of what appeared to be sake on top. First she knelt before Hiromasa and placed a cup before him, then moved and did the same for Seimei. After that, she began pouring the sake. While she poured, Hiromasa stared at the woman’s face.

The clothes were the same, but it was a different woman. She looked to be twenty years old, with plump lips and a pale nape, and a seductive scent. 

“What’s the matter?” Seimei asked Hiromasa, who was still staring at the woman. 

“That’s not the woman I saw earlier.” Hiromasa said, as the woman smiled and bowed her head. She began pouring sake into Seimei’s cup. “Are you a person?” Hiromasa was asking if the woman was Seimei’s Shikigami.

“Do you want to try it?” Seimei asked.

“Try it?”

“I’ll sneak it into Hiromasa’s mansion tonight.”

“Don’t tease me, idiot!”

“Well, then?” 

“Oh!” 

The two of them drank a glass of sake. The cup became empty, the woman poured more sake. While watching the woman, Hiromasa muttered, “I don’t understand when I come here,” and sighed.

“What don’t you understand?”

“I wonder, how in the heck are there so many people in this mansion? Every time I come there’s a new face.” 

“Well, isn’t that good?” Seimei extended his chopsticks to the plate of grilled fish. 

“Is that salmon?”

“I bought some at a place this morning. It’s Kamogawa sweetfish.” 

It was a rather large salmon, and when you picked up its warm body with the chopsticks, the steamy flesh would crack. The side door was open, the garden clearly visible. The woman withdrew, and Hiromasa took that as a signal to return to Seimei’s story.

“To continue from earlier, concerning the curse,”

“Come, now,” Seimei said while he drank. “Don’t put on airs.”

“For example - what is the shortest curse in the world?” 

“The shortest curse?” Before Seimei could think of it Hiromasa continued. 

“Don’t think about it. Just tell me.”

“Hmm. The shortest curse in the world, is a name.”

“A name?”

“Yes.”

“Do you mean like my name, or yours?”

“Yes, exactly. The mountains, the seas, the grass, the insects, and such, all those names are just such curses.” 

“I don’t know…”

“What is a curse? In short, it is something that binds.” 

“...”

“A name binds the fundamental state of things.”

“...” 

“If there’s a thing in this world with no name, then it’s nothing… it’s as if it doesn’t exist.” 

“You say such complicated things…”

“For example, you and I are the same, both human beings, but you are the one cursed by the word ‘Hiromasa’, and I am the one cursed by the word ‘Seimei’.”  Still, Hiromasa seemed unconvinced.

“If I don’t have a name, does that mean I’m not of the world?”

“Iya [14], no, you still exist. ‘Hiromasa’ is gone.”

“Hiromasa is me. If ‘Hiromasa’ disappears so do I.”

Seimei neither confirmed nor denied it, but shook his head. “There is something invisible to the eye, something unseen that can be bound by a name.” 

“How?”

“A man believes he loves a woman. A woman believes she loves a man. If you give a name to that feeling, and a curse binds it, it becomes a romantic relationship.” [15]

“Oh, I see!” Hiromasa nodded, though he still seemed confused.

“However, if you don’t give that love a name, that doesn’t change the fact that they love each other.”

Hiromasa said, “Isn’t that normal?”

Seimei replied, “It’s not quite the same.”

Hiromasa brought the sake to his mouth. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“In that case, let’s change the wording.”

“Hmm.”

“Look at the garden.” Seimei pointed to the garden beside them, the one with the wisteria trees. “There’s the wisteria tree, right?”

“Right.”

“That tree, I named it Mitsumushi.” [16]

“Named it?”

“I cast a spell upon it.”

“So, what happened -?”

“I was waiting for a great man to return.” [17]

“What did you say?”

“The flowers are still in bloom.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.” Hiromasa said.

“As I thought, I have to explain men and women to you.” Seimei said, watching Hiromasa.

“Explain to me.” Hiromasa said.

“Imagine there was a woman who fell in love with you, for example, you could give her the moon in the heavens, because of the curse.”

“Tell me how.”

“Point to the moon, and say, ‘my dear, just tell me to give you the moon’.”

“What!?”

“Yes, and should the lady answer, the moon belongs to her.”
 

“Is that a curse?”

“It’s the oldest kind.” [18]

“I don’t understand at all.”

“It’s fine that you don’t know. Those bald priests in Takano have supposedly bound everything in the world with a single mantra.” [19]

As one would expect, Hiromasa seemed shocked. “Oi, Seimei! You - did you spend a month in Takano just speaking to the monks?”

“Well, yes. It was actually about twenty days.”

“I don’t understand this curse business.” Hiromasa brought the sake to his lips.

“Hey. Did anything interesting happen while I was away?” Seimei asked.

“Well it’s not exactly interesting, but Tadami passed away ten days ago.”

“You mean Mibu no Tadami?” [20]

“Yes, he wasted away.”

“Sounds like he starved to death. Was it during the third month of this year?”

“Yes.”

The two nodded, each thinking of the poetry contest held by the Imperial court in Seiryo-den Hall during the third month. [21] The court poets are divided into the left and right, and create sets of lines based on a theme, then come back together to discuss the merits of the poems. [22]

“Of my love,” Seimei said, reciting the first line of the poem Tadami wrote in the competition.

Of my love the word has already spread, − although unknown to anyone, I have only just begun to see them as beloved. [23]

This was Tadami’s poem. In the competition, he battled with Taira no Kanemori.

Although I hide it, it has appeared on my face; that love of mine, people are even asking: "Whom are you thinking of?" [24]

That was Kanemori’s poem. Fujiwara no Saneyori, the judge, was having difficulty deciding between the two poems, when Emperor Murakami, who was watching, began to murmur a poem under his breath. That was, Kanemori’s ‘Although I hide it’.

As soon as the judge declared Kanemori’s victory, Tadami cried out in a thin voice, “Flawed!” and went terribly pale, and the story was the talk of the palace for a while. From that day on, Tadami stopped eating, and spent all day laying on the floor in his mansion.

“In the end, he died biting his own tongue.” It seemed he couldn’t eat even if he tried.  

“He seemed to be a gentleman, but at the core he was a frightening man.”  Seimei muttered.

“I can’t believe it. I don’t think I could lose my will to live from losing a competition.” Hiromasa said earnestly over his sake. Finishing it, he helped himself to another drink, while looking at Seimei, and said, “Well, it seems it’s time to go.”

“Go where?”

“It seems Tadami’s vengeful spirit is in Seiryo-den Hall.”

“How so?” Seimei’s mouth started to open.

“Some of the night watch have seen it. Tadami, pale faced, walking through the rain, back and forth between Seiryo-den and Shishenden Hall, muttering about love.”

“How fascinating.”

“Don’t be silly, Seimei. It’s been ten days already. If the Emperor could hear you, you might change your words.”

With a surprisingly earnest expression, Seimei nodded at Hiromasa’s words. “What about it, Hiromasa?”

“About what?”

“Isn’t it about time to mention it? What you came here to talk about.”

“You knew?”

“It’s clearly written on your face. Because you’re a good man, after all.” Seimei was gently teasing him, but Hiromasa’s expression was serious.

“To tell the truth, Seimei -” His tone of voice changed. “Five nights ago, the emperor’s cherished Genjou was stolen from the palace.” 

“Oho,” Seimei leaned forward, holding his cup in his hand. 

Genjou was the name of a biwa, a musical instrument. Even among famous instruments, it had a unique reputation. Originally a cherished item that belonged to Emperor Daigo, and came from the Tang Dynasty. The rosewood belly was dried three times with various salts, as is the way among the tribes of Kyoraku. [25]

“I have no idea who stole it, or when, or how.”

“That’s troubling.” Seimei said, with an expression that didn’t seem troubled at all. It seemed his gaze was boring a hole into the ground in front of Hiromasa.

“So, the night before last, I heard the sound of the biwa.” 

[1] Minamoto no Hiramasa, our second male lead is another historical figure. In the text he’s referred to by a Japanese title, Ason, which doesn’t really have an English equivalent. It’s a hereditary title and in the Heian period it was the highest noble title you could receive.

[2] Lunar Calendar – a calendar based upon the cycle of the moon, rather than a solar calendar based on the solar year [like a Western calendar]. Most eastern cultures still have a lunar calendar that is used to track festivals and religious ceremonies though the western calendar has also been adopted. The rainy season mentioned here indicates the heavy monsoon rainfall that parts of China, mostly the south, experiences during the summertime.

[3] The term here is 薄紙 usugami, which means ‘thin paper’. I think it might be specifically referring to the paper used for origami but I haven’t 100% confirmed that.

[4] Tang Dynasty – referring to the era of Chinese history. The wall likely looked like this.

[5] Karahafu – style of rooftop that looks like this.

[6] Suikan – Heian era clothes that nobility wore.  The footwear is described as 沓靴, which is translated as ‘kutsu kutsu’ [kutsu is shoe]. More than likely the shoes that they mean look like this.

[7] Tachi – a type of Japanese sword which preceeded the katana. It would’ve been the typical samurai sword of Hiramasa’s time. They tended to be two feet long at least, with a slight curve. Wearing it on his left hip implies Hiramasa is ready for danger – the right hip would’ve been the polite place when a guest somewhere, or when you are comfortable/not expecting a fight.

[8] 寺 tera – doesn’t have to refer to a Buddhist temple, but most sources seem to say it tends to refer to Buddhist temples. So, Seimei probably lives in an abandoned Buddhist temple.

[9] The Japanese wisteria.

[10] The specific clothes mentioned are kariginu and sashiyuki, which were male casual clothes worn by nobles.

[11] The phrase he uses here isn’t ‘sokka’ or ‘soudesuka’, both of which mean ‘I see’ – he uses ‘naruhodo’, which means ‘Indeed, I see’, but has a different context to it. It implies a kind of understanding and is a warmer/friendlier way of saying the phrase. So Seimei is kind of teasing Hiromasa here, in a friendly way.

[12] The term he uses is ‘bozu’ which means ‘buddhist monk’ but not in a polite way. He’s basically calling him baldy.

[13] I’m not joking. The term used for smile here ‘bisho’, specifically refers to a “charming’ or ‘enticing’ smile. One website says its ‘meant to catch a man’s attention’ LMAO.

[14] Iya – a general phrase of disgust or upset. 16

[15]  その気持ちに名をつけて呪れば恋 ‘If you give a name to that feeling and curse it, you will love’. The phrase for love is ‘koi’, which implies romantic love, so I’m inferring that the curse means you enter a romantic relationship.

[16] Mitsumushi – translated as Honey Bug in most of the media. ‘Mitsu’ means nectar or honey, and ‘mushi’ means ‘bug, insect, cricket, moth, worm’ – basically any kind of small creepy critter.

[17] The original line is けなげにもおれが帰るのを待っていた [Kenage ni mo ore ga kaeru no o matteita]. To break it down, It says ‘I have been waiting for [subject] to return/to come home’. The subject is ‘kenage’, which on the surface means ‘brave’ or ‘praiseworthy’, which sounds like it should describe a noun, but here kenage is the noun, and the word itself has a deeper meaning than it seems. It’s short for ‘kenarige’ a combo of kenari [old Japanese for different] and ge/ke [feeling]. It’s used to describe people who are different in a positive way, people who excel, a person who ‘strives with difficulties’, or as one site puts it, “a person who endures suffering and strives earnestly”. It’s a big compliment. Hiromasa replies with, ‘Nandato?” which is a way of expressing shock while asking ‘what’. He’s taken aback by Seimei’s words.

[18] ‘noroi no ichiban moto ni naru monoda’ – literally, ‘curse of first source to become thing’, I’m translating ‘first/best source’ as ‘the oldest curse’.

[19] Time for my academic speciality! The priests here are implied to be Buddhists, most likely Jodo-shu Buddhists, or the Pure Land Sect. The school believes in bodhisvattas, the concept of a buddha who could enter nirvana but chooses to remain in the spiritual realm to guide others to nirvana. A specific bodhisvatta is the most important in Pure Land Buddhism, Amitabha, who is said to have told his followers that merely by saying his name will they reserve a place for themselves in his paradise. If you focus on him at the moment of your death, you will enter his paradise. The idea is, his name is all you need to be saved from the cycle of reincarnation. Here we have the reason why Seimei went to Takano – having thought about the power of names, he went to investigate the temple where the monks believe that literally a name can save your soul.  His tone is disrespectful – he clearly doesn’t think highly of the ‘bald priests’.

[20] Mibu no Tadami - A Heian era poet.

[21] Seiryo-den Hall – a location in the imperial palace, used for the emperor’s private life and various rituals.  

[22] More of my specialized obsessive knowledge sharing time! This is a discussion of an old fashioned style of Japanese poetry writing, based around a form called the Tanka. The competition discussed here is a ‘uta-awase’, which was big in the Heian period. There are two sides, the Left and Right, competing against each other. Each side writes a poem based on a theme, a judge decides the victor for the round, and then they start another poem.

[23] Seimei names a line that Tadami wrote, - 恋すてふわが名はまだき立ちにけり人しれずこそ思ひそめしか [Koisute fuwa ga na wa mada ki tachi nikeri hito shirezu koso omohi someshika].  “As my love first came to realisation, word had already spread.” Or, “ Of my love the word has already spread, − although unknown to anyone, I have only just begun to see her as beloved.” I changed 'her' to 'them' because there's nothing in the language that implies a gender. The topic was ‘concealed love’.  The reason Seimei mentions it is because, once again, the topic touches upon the idea of ‘names’ – in this case, the man’s reputation, but the word used is literally ‘name’ or ‘word’. For an in depth dive into what the poem means, check this out.

This line was apparently part of a contest in 960, and lost, and its said that Mibu no Tadami died of ‘eating illness’ because of it.

[24] The poem that Tadami lost to, discussed in depth here. Apparently it was a close race.

[25] This line was tough. The original: 紫檀のひた甲、腹は塩地を三ツ継合せ〟　と、『胡琴教録下』にある。In quotes, the words ‘ebisu koto kyo-roku-ka’ seem to mean ‘tribe’ ‘koto [referring to the instrument]’ and ‘kyoroku’ a place in Japan.