I'm actually taking notes on something mostly unrelated, but I stumbled across this in my research. This is all from Superstitions, Magic, and Mantic Practices in the Heian Period by Jolanta Tubielewicz.

Among the invisible demons a prominent group was formed by shikigami (shiki-no kami, shikijin) - demons in the service of onmyouji and other magicians. The shikigami could have been used by their masters for every kind of work - good or bad - from the commenest labors at home to putting a curse on or even killing somebody.

One of the most famous masters of Onmyoudou, Abe Seimei, called on his friend, monk Kanchou. They sat in the garden and talked bout the occult art when one boy listening to them asked Seimei, if it would be possible to kill a man by shikigami. Seimei explained that it was possible but not quite easy: "Killing insects and other small animals is much easier. Nevertheless, it is a sin." The boy insisted on demonstration of that power and at last Seimei consented to kill a frog. He took a blade of grass, murmured spells over it and then put it on the frog. The frog died instantly. It was killed by a shikigami summoned by Seimei. Seimei was in the habit of using shikigami as messengers and servants (Kon. XXIV, 16). In the Heike-monogatari and Gempei-seisui-ki it is written that Seimei had twelve demons at his disposal, but his wife was afraid of them and one day she put the demons into a sack and hid them under a bridge. Nevertheless, the shikigami were still in contact with their master and whenever Seimei needed one of them, it spoke through the mouth of anybody at hand.

The same Seimei is mentioned in the Okagami as well. When the Emperor Kanzen suddenly abdicated (in 986) and fled at night from the palace, he passed Seimei's house on the way and heard Seimei's voice ordering one of his shikigami to go to the palace. Then "soemthing invisible to the eye pushed the door open and probably saw the Emperor's back" ("me-ni-wa mienu mono-no to-wo oshiakete, miushiro-wo-ya mimairaseken...") (Ok. 52, 442). The voice of the shikigami was heard informing Seimei that the Emperor was just passing his house.

Here and in the Heike version shikigami are heard but not seen. In the first part of the "frog story" there is a tale showing that shikigami were able to assume a human shape if their master wished so. The tale is about a practitioner of magic who wanted to put Seimei to a test and came to him as a monk with two boys. Seimei guessed at once that the boys were shikigami. But it seems that the true figure of Shikigami* belongs to the category of invisible demons vaguely associated with a human form because the classifier used for counting them is the same as for people (hitori, futari...).

* Speaking about a figure of something invisible is not quite logical but demons as a whole are beyond logic, so we shall risk that phrase.

Though this obviously isn't all applicable to the Shounen Onmyouji universe, I found it interesting. And I hadn't heard the Emperor story before, nor the one about his wife (wtf, grandma).

Judging by his diary, Michinaga kept many masters of Onmyoujou busy during his active service at the palace. There are scores of entries concerning consultations with Kamo Koei, Abe Seimei, Abe Yoshihira, Abe Yoshimasa and others, on public as well as private matters. Other diaries (the Shoyuki, Kagero-nikki, etc) also show how important role onmyouji played in everyday life.

:D

Name: Abe no Masahiro
Age: 14 (as of novel 10)
Height: 4'4".
Weight: Skinny. Growing boy.
Medical Info: N/A
Eyes: Brownish gold.
Hair: Dark brown and long. Usually pulled back into a messy ponytail.

Physical Traits: Nothing special. Average fourteen year old boy, if not a little small by modern and western standards. [SEMI-SPOILERS] I'm going to guess he has some pretty spectacular scars on his chest because, uh. Well. Magical healing or not, those two incidents are gonna leave a mark. Probably the most noticeable thing about him is his clothing-- it definitely dates him back to the Heian Era.

( Read more... )

[IN A CERTAIN CABIN IN THE WOODS, ALL IS QUIET.]

MONDAY
8:50 - 9:40: CLASS (Intro to British and American Lit pre-1914)
11:00 - 11:50: CLASS (General Anthropology)
1:20 - 2:10: CLASS (Anthropology Discussion Section)
2:25 - 3:15: CLASS (Intro to Judaism Discussion Section)

TUESDAY
1:00 - 2:15: CLASS (Introduction to Judaism)
2:30 - 3:45: CLASS (Religion in History and Culture: The East)

WEDNESDAY
8:50 - 9:40: CLASS (Intro to British and American Lit pre-1914)
11:00 - 11:50: CLASS (General Anthropology)
12:05 - 12:55: CLASS (Religion: East Discussion Section)
1:00 - 5:00: WORK

THURSDAY
1:00 - 2:15: CLASS (Introduction to Judaism)
2:30 - 3:45: CLASS (Religion in History and Culture: The East)

FRIDAY
9:00 - 1:00: WORK
1:20 - 2:10: CLASS (Intro to Lit Discussion Section)

SATURDAY
9:00 - 1:00: WORK

For my own reference. :( All spells taken from the Shounen Onmyouji Animation Book. THIS IS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS. Eventually all the spells in the book will be here, as well as explanations of what they do. When. You know. I'm not feeling lazy.

( Read more... )

...you look like you're almost all healed already.

STOLEN FROM EVERYONE EVER.

Comment to me with your characters and I'll tell you what I assume our characters do offscreen together. Then you can tell me how wrong I am and I'll cry. I play... Larxene, Rinali, Hugo, Katou, Judas, Masahiro, and Cain.

[continued from here]

I... this is really nice. Just being able to forget everything and have fun.

I guess we should have one of these, huh?

TODAY, FOR A CHANGE OF PACE, I'M TRANSLATING/SUMMARIZING DRAMA CDS INSTEAD.

Which is to say that, as you've probably noticed, we haven't taken Mokkun and Masahiro from the end of the anime. Shounen Onmyouji is an ongoing series of novels (it's up to 18 volumes at this point) and the end of the Kazane arc is only novel 7. Novel 8 is sidestories, and novel 9 continues the main plot with the beginning of the Tenko arc. Masahiro and Mokkun in camp are from the end of novel 9/the beginning of novel 10.

The events of novel 9 are contained within a drama CD as well. nekokoban was nice enough to upload it for me. I'm going to be summarizing the drama CD instead of the novel proper because, honestly, they're more or less the same thing and it's easier for me to understand spoken Japanese than written.

So, anyway! If you read this, you'll be fully caught up on where Masahiro and Mokkun are coming from and we won't be able to spoil you at all. \o/

( Tenkohen 1: Soaring Into the Deep Crimson Sky (track 1) )

...I hate this.

So here's your post.

I have this thing where I enjoy photoshopping icons in horrible ways.



If you give me a picture of a character--it could be 100x100, but I prefer them to be larger--I will, perhaps, make you one. 8D

THINGS MAGORAJI HAS TAUGHT ME ABOUT MASAHIRO AND TECHNOLOGY:

1) If given a cellphone, he will quickly learn not only how to call people, but also how to text message and email through it. (Any cellphone of his probably has cutesy decorations on it, though this has not yet been confirmed.)
2) If given a computer (in Magoraji canon, one of his brothers--probably Narichika since he's the COOL one--bought him one), he will eventually learn how to blog. He will then proceed to blog incessantly about Akiko and not at all about Guren, causing Guren to become very annoyed. Seimei will complain about Masahiro and his lack of priorities in his blog.

I love my pseudo-canon.

Mokkun, I don't care how bright this one is! I'm trying to write a letter.

Last episode! Get out your tissues. After this, I might do, like, a three paragraph long summary of the next novel, since we take Guren and Masahiro from the end of that rather than the end of the anime.

( Episode 26 )

Second to last episode, hoooooo!

( Episode 25 )

俺のじい様は口でするのが上手です。