Onmyōdō

陰陽道 is a system of natural science, astronomy, almanac, divination and magic that developed independently in Japan based on the Chinese philosophies of yin and yang and wuxing (five elements). The philosophy of yin and yang and wuxing was introduced to Japan at the beginning of the 6th century, and, influenced by Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, evolved into the earliest system of Onmyōdō around the late 7th century. In 701, the Taiho Code established the departments and posts of onmyōji who practiced Onmyōdō in the Imperial Court, and Onmyōdō was institutionalized. From around the 9th century during the Heian period, Onmyōdō interacted with Shinto and Goryō worship in Japan, and developed into a system unique to Japan. Abe no Seimei, who was active during Heian period, is the most famous onmyōji (Onmyōdō practitioner) in Japanese history and has appeared in various Japanese literature in later years. Onmyōdō was under the control of the imperial government, and later its courtiers, the Tsuchimikado family, until the middle of the 19th century, at which point it became prohibited as superstition. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the principles of yin-yang and the Five Elements were transmitted to Japan from China and Baekje along with Buddhism and Confucianism, particularly by the obscure Korean monk Gwalleuk. Yin-yang and the Five Elements, as well as the divisions of learning to which they were linked – astronomy, calendar-making, the reckoning of time, divination, and studies based on observation of nature – were amalgamated into fortune telling. This process of judging auspicious or harmful signs present in the natural world, was accepted into Japanese society as a technique for predicting good or bad fortune in the human world. Such techniques were known mostly by Buddhist monks from mainland Asia, who were knowledgeable in reading and writing Chinese. Over time, demand from members of the Imperial Court who believed that Onmyōdō divination would be helpful in decision-making, made it necessary for the laity to perform the art, and onmyōji began to appear around the middle of the 7th century.