Abe no Seimei (安倍 晴明, February 21, 921 AD – October 31, 1005) was a Japanese onmyōji, a court official and specialist of Onmyōdō, during the middle of the Heian period.

Many legends of Seimei were originally written in the Konjaku Monogatarishū, and by the Edo period, many stories in circulation focused on his heroic acts.

[4] Another candidate is Abe no Miushi (阿倍 御主人), who appeared as an Udaijin (右大臣 "Minister of the Right") in The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.

[7][8] Seimei's duties included analyzing strange events, conducting exorcisms, warding against evil spirits, and performing various rites of geomancy.

Seimei's reputation grew sufficiently that, from the late 10th century, the Onmyōryō, the government ministry of Onmyōdō, was controlled by the Abe clan.

[9] The mystical symbol of the central five-pointed star referred to in the West as a pentagram, is known in Japan as the Seiman, the Seal of Abe no Seimei, or the Seimei Kikyō (晴明紋 / 晴明桔梗); this pentacle was originally the personal seal of Abe-no-Seimei, later becoming the symbol for the Onmyōryō (the government ministry department for the practice of Onmyōdō, or the Bureau of Taoist Geomancy) and for Onmyōdō itself, given its association with the Chinese Five Elements.

Many of his legends revolve around a series of magical battles with a rival, Ashiya Dōman (蘆屋道満), who often tried to embarrass Seimei so that he could usurp his position.

He appears as a minor character in the Heike Monogatari and is said to be responsible for divining the location of the Shuten-dōji, a powerful oni purportedly slain by Minamoto no Yorimitsu.

With the program, Hanyu became the first skater across all disciplines to score above 200 points in the free skate and set back-to-back world records in the 2015–16 season.

[20] Abe no Seimei's origin story would be retold on the Japanese Animation television show Folktales from Japan in episode 83.

His name appears in many works of fiction, often as a helpful, wise man and rarely as an enemy, such as Twin Star Exorcists.

[21] The first modern fictional work credited with bringing back widespread interest to Onmyōdō mysticism in Japan is the 1985 historical fantasy novel Teito Monogatari by Hiroshi Aramata.

[22] In the novel's story, two of the primary characters, Yasumasa Hirai and Yasunori Katō, are descendants of Seimei and have inherited all his knowledge.

In 1988, Baku Yumemakura started a novel series named Onmyōji with Seimei portrayed as a handsome young man who lived in a Heian-period world populated by mysterious beings.

[24] A version of Abe has also been rendered by acclaimed Taiwanese manga artist Ethan, who has stated that he is a massive fan of the novel.

[26] In 2020, a Chinese film, The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity, was produced based on an adaption from Onmyōji written by Baku Yumemakura.

[30] A prequel film, titled The Yin Yang Master Zero (陰陽師0, Onmyōji Zero), starring Kento Yamazaki as Seimei, premiered on April 19, 2024;[31] it was later released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video on October 18 of the same year.

[33] To capitalize on the success of the Onmyōji films, Fuji Television produced a miniseries in 2004, called Onmyoji: Abe no Seimei.

They also share facts about their lives, such as their mother being called a demon fox and their ability to create oni since they were young.

Seimei had been shown in a manga called Nurarihyon no Mago by Hiroshi Shiibashi, as a Nue, dark lord of the Ayakashi, born from an evil fox.

Abe no Seimei also appears in the manga Igyoujin Oniwakamaru as an evil spirit who plans to revive himself to begin his second life and rule over humans and yokai.

Seimei appears in the video game Toukiden: The Age of Demons as a mitama (a hero's soul from Japanese history).

In Part 1.5 of the mobile game Fate/Grand Order, Seimei's name is claimed as an undercover pseudonym used by Ashiya Dōman in the Shimōsa story chapter.

Despite being from the Heian period, he strangely appears during the Sengoku era to train the players in the art of Onmyō magic.

It is later revealed in the DLC "Darkness in the Capital" that this individual was an avatar created by the real Seimei, who had sacrificed himself alongside Minamoto no Yorimitsu to seal away Shuten Dōji and Tamamo-no-Mae within Byōdō-in during the Heian period.