. onmyd and esoteric buddhism 689
Gozu Tennō in Japan at Hiromine in Harima (present-day
Hyōgo prefecture), but it is difficult to accept this as historically accu-
rate. It is likely that the prestigious name of Kibi no Makibi was added
later in order to enhance the status of this cult by religious specialists
who traveled around the country and distribute protective talismans.
The Harima area is considered to be the center of folk Onmyōdō. From
the sixth to seventh centuries many foreigners resided in Harima and
brought with them forms of continental folk religiosity. In fact, the
cult of pestilence-gods is probably related to the pestilence brought to
Japan by such foreigners. We may recall that Ashiya Dōman
, Abe no Seimei’s greatest rival and the most famous folk onmyōji,
was from Harima.
Shugendō and Onmyōdō
Among the ritual specialists related to Onmyōdō we find not only
the various types of onmyōji and the sukuyōji but also other folk reli-
gious figures, such as the shugenja , practitioners of Shugendō
. Shugendō, a system combining Japanese mountain ascetics
and esoteric Buddhist elements, has been also influenced by Onmyōdō,
especially in the important role it attributes to the five agents and the
use of written magical formulas based on Daoism but also by eso-
teric Buddhism—in Shugendō, these formulas are written in Indian
letters rather than Chinese ideograms. Moreover, the use of kuji
(nine characters), a mystical protective gesture, is common to both
Shugendō and Onmyōdō. Gobōsei , the magical pentalpha and
emblem of Abe no Seimei, is also usually drawn by shugenja in talis-
mans for protection. In Onmyōdō, gobōsei and kuji are usually taken
together as a set called seiman dōman and are
believed to have been authored by Abe no Seimei and his rival Ashiya
Dōman, respectively.
All these ritual similarities are based in the common honji sui-
jaku system, which supports both Shugendō and medieval Onmyōdō
thought. Shugenja were also said to have spiritual servants, similar
to those of the onmyōji. It is possible that Onmyōdō practices were
spread throughout Japan by itinerant shugenja, along with other reli-
gious figures. Shugenja also practiced astrology and divination, which
were the monopoly of the Abe family. During the Edo period, the
Tsuchimikado family (the later name of the Abe family) took
under their control many shugenja, along with other religious special-
ists who were not affiliated with Buddhist or Shintō institutions. The