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Spirit Servant: Narratives of Shikigami and Onmyodo Developments by Carolyn Pang is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

What is Spirit Servant: Narratives of Shikigami and Onmyodo Developments about?

Onmyōdō, an indigenous Japanese magic system, which developed from the 10th century, also appeared in the Japanese popular cinema. Responding to the needs of theaudience, the filmmakers combined the historic resources with the aesthetics of the popular culture, creating a successful product and, at the same time, popularized a romantic myth of a great onmyōji - Abe no Seimei. The aim of this article is to present the development of the Japanese magic on the screen, as well as to show the differences and similarities between presentations of the protagonists and rituals in the chosen pictures. In the beginning, the author offers a brief summary of the history of onmyōdō on the Japanese ground and the further development of the phenomenon on the screen. In the next parts of the presented paper the author analyses the images of Abe no Seimei in popular cinema and compares the filmmakers' visions to the descriptions of the wizard provided by the historians. The last part of the article revolves around the rituals presented on the screen, inspired by the processes depicted in the chronicles, as well as in the legends.

Who reads Spirit Servant: Narratives of Shikigami and Onmyodo Developments?

Author

Carolyn Pang

Published

2009

Language

EN

Category

nonfiction

Subjects

Religion, Religious Studies