⛩️SEIMEI SHRINE (晴明神社)⭐️

It may be small, & is perhaps not as attractive as the other nearby shrines, but Seimei-jinja's (晴明神社) grounds are filled with monuments & memorials to Abe-no-Seimei (安倍晴明 921-1005) and his mysterious life.
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1) SHIKIGAMI (式神)-

Shikigami are somewhat unruly spirits summoned by Onmyōji (陰陽師) to serve them. Invisible to almost everyone but the summoner, they would -for the most part- act like normal servants, performing household chores or secretarial duties.
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Fearsome in appearance, the Shikigami's powers were connected to the strength of their master. Thus it is of no surprise that Seimei (安倍晴明) was said to have had 12 'Shikijin' (式神), mostly performing simple tasks such as guarding his residence or opening gates.
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Seimei's wife was terrified of the creatures & so when not needed he would hide them away in a box beneath nearby Ichijo Modori Bridge (一条戻橋).
His wife's fear was not completely unfounded. There are tales of Shikigami breaking free from spells & turning on their masters.
There is one famous story involving Shikigami. One day Fujiwara-no-Michinaga's (藤原道長) dog, unusually, would not let him leave the house. Seimei investigated, only to discover that someone (a rival Onmyōji) had sent a Shikigami to curse him on his way to the palace!
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2) SEIMEI SPRING (晴明井の晴明水)

Seimei-jinja's Seimei-i (晴明水) was known as one of Yamashiro’s notable springs (山城名泉). On the first day of spring the shrine priests divine the year's lucky direction and turn the pentagram atop the lid accordingly.
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Drinking the water is said to bring luck.
Seimei, through psychokinesis (念力), is said to have first made water appear in the grounds of his villa. The great tea master Sen-no-Rikyu (千利休 1522-91), who had his mansion close by, regularly used the water for his tea gatherings.
3) PEACHES-

Before Seimei-jinja's main hall is a large, bronze peach known as Yakuyoke-momo (厄除桃 lit. Peach to Ward-off Evil).
The faithful smooth the fruit's surface in the hope it will purify & protect them against misfortune.

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In China peaches were symbols of longevity, & peach wood was used as a charm against evil. The Kojiki (古事記) & Nihon Shoki (日本書紀) both recount a tale in which a peach was used to exorcise a demon.

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4) PENTAGRAM/SEIMAN (セーマン/安倍晴明判)-

It is said that Seimei created the Seiman pentacle, a seal representing the 5 elements and often used as clan symbol.
The 5 points symbolise wood, water, earth, fire and metal (the Western pentagram derives from the 5 senses).
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All the elemental points are connected, but like a game of Janken (じゃん拳 'Rock Paper Scissors'), each has strengths & weaknesses.
For example fire eats wood & melts metal, but can be extinguished by water or earth.
The shrine is adorned with these emblem pentacles.
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5) FOXES-
Thanks to his mother, Seimei is deeply linked to the cult of Inari, and the god's fox messengers.
The legend goes that Abe-no-Yasuna (安倍保名), Seimei's father, happened upon a fox ensnared in the Shinoda Woods (Settsu Province) and out of pity freed the poor creature.
At that moment the hunter (a military commissioner hunting for fox livers to use in medicine) returned and fought with Yasuna.

Yasuna escaped with the fox, but was seriously injured and fainted. When he awoke he discovered he was being cared for by a beautiful woman.
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Kuzunoha (葛の葉 'Kudzu Leaf') was the guardian of the Shinoda shrine, and she just so happened to be a fox. The couple fell in love and had Seimei.
Accompanying Yasuna to the capital, she lived her life in human form to raise their child.
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It is only when he came of age that Seimei discovered his mother was a fox. In doing so the magic was undone and Kuzunoha was obliged to return to her old life as guardian of Shinoda Shrine.
She bestowed a final gift...Seimei could now understand the language of animals.
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