The Identity of 'Pamyo' Monk Gisunae... The Onmyoji Said to Have Fox Yokai Blood [Sunday Culture]

From Astronomical and Mechanical Official to Shaman... Even Oda Nobunaga Appointed Him

Editor's NoteIt’s a lazy Sunday for both body and mind. Our international desk reporter brings you an interesting read related to Japanese culture.

This article contains spoilers. If you do not want spoilers for the movie 'Pamyoh', please press the back button.

The movie 'Pamyoh' has literally become a huge hit. It is about to surpass 7 million cumulative viewers. Since I enjoyed director Jang Jae-hyun’s other film 'Savaha' and had requests from people around me to watch and interpret it, I went to see it as well.

After watching the movie, I found several articles that help with understanding it. From the meanings of chamoe (Korean melon) and eun-eo (sweetfish) to explanations about the Japanese ghost 'Nure-onna'. Here, I want to introduce the Japanese onmyoji called 'Kisun-ae seonsaeng' who appears in the film. The movie consistently features 'fox' and 'tiger', and Kisun-ae, who cast the original curse, is the Korean pronunciation of 'kitsune', the Japanese word for fox. This onmyoji, with a white face chanting spells with the index and middle fingers, who exactly is she? Today, I will tell you about the story of Japanese onmyoji.

Illustration of a Japanese Onmyoji. (Photo by Rakuten)

Onmyoji Were Originally Bureaucrats... Responsible for Astronomy and Divination Instead of Curses

Onmyoji were not originally called sorcerers. They were people who handled astronomy and divination, such as fortune-telling, determining auspicious days for farming based on the movement of constellations, and praying for unexplained illnesses. They were technical bureaucrats working based on the theory of the five elements and calendar systems.

From the Heian period onward, they began to be seen not just as fortune-tellers but as people who used curses and secret techniques. The representative onmyoji is Abe no Seimei from the Heian period. It is said that he inherited the blood of a fox yokai. Abe no Seimei is considered the person who systematized Japanese onmyodo. From technical bureaucrats, onmyoji in the Heian period gained such power that they could even determine the emperor’s enthronement date. Onmyoji often appear in Japanese historical epic dramas.

Warlords could not ignore onmyoji either. There is an interpretation that the 'eun-eo' and 'chamoe' in the movie represent Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Both are said to have employed onmyoji. Oda Nobunaga invited onmyoji to military meetings, and Tokugawa Ieyasu reportedly held the Taizan Fukun ritual created by Abe no Seimei. Although called a ritual, it is said that Abe no Seimei could summon Taizan Fukun to even revive the dead, passed down as a secret technique. However, Toyotomi Hideyoshi disliked onmyoji, believing they ruined the country.

In any case, if these figures actively employed onmyoji, it is likely that onmyoji influence was not absent even during the invasion of Joseon.

Official still cut of the movie 'Pamyo'.

The Relationship Between Onmyoji and the Heart Sutra

To maximize their psychic power, onmyoji chant the Heart Sutra. Although short with only 262 characters, it properly contains the Buddhist principle of 'emptiness'. It means to remain as you are without bias, making it a suitable scripture for emptying oneself and amplifying psychic power.

There is also a Japanese legend involving the Heart Sutra. It is the story of 'Hoichi the Earless'. It was introduced in the 1964 Japanese horror film 'Kaidan'.

Hoichi, who is blind but an excellent biwa player and singer, stays at a temple. While the monk is briefly away at night, someone takes Hoichi to sing for his lord. Impressed by his singing, they ask him to come every night for six days to sing for the lord and tell him not to tell anyone. Though he cannot see, he obeys, thinking the voice belongs to a noble person.

Even after the monk returns, Hoichi goes out at night to sing. Suspicious, the monk has someone follow him and finds Hoichi singing as if possessed in front of Emperor Antoku’s tomb. Antoku was a young ruler who ascended the throne at age two. After his father and maternal grandfather died, a war broke out to seize power, which they lost. At age five or six, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea with his grandmother. The spirits that summoned Hoichi were the vengeful souls who lost the war and had to take their own lives.

Official still cut of the movie 'Pamyo'.

The monk said, "The ghosts have called you. After you finish singing, you will follow them to the afterlife," and to protect him, wrote the Heart Sutra all over Hoichi’s body. He was told not to speak and to survive the night.

That night, the ghosts calling for Hoichi searched the entire temple but could not find him. Because the Heart Sutra was written all over his body, they could not see him. The only parts visible were his two ears, which the monk had forgotten to cover. The warlords said, "We cannot find Hoichi, but we see only ears, so we will take these as proof," and cut off his ears.

The Curse of Onmyoji Shown in the Movie

The magic of onmyoji actually originated from various sources such as Taoism and esoteric Buddhism from ancient China. After watching Pamyoh, I became curious and looked up spells related to sealing or barriers. There really was a spell called 'Kimon Fuuin' (Demon Gate Seal). It originated in the Heian period and involved sealing the northeast, known as the gate through which demons enter. It was also used as a spell to create barriers in shaded areas. Since wood and stone easily accumulate energy, stones were usually used for barriers. There are stories that barriers set by Heian period onmyoji still work and that photos taken nearby capture them.

However, curses are not always good. Onmyoji reportedly dug two graves when cursing someone to death: one for the target and one for themselves. This was because if they killed someone with a curse, the same would be returned to them.

During World War II, a Shingon sect temple in Tokyo performed spells to destroy the United States. Although not done by onmyoji but by esoteric Buddhism, the temple was burned down during the Tokyo air raids, possibly as a result of the curse backfiring.

A Japanese occult blog introducing onmyoji magic said, "The spells Japan used in World War II had no effect, and the Nazis also practiced black magic, but it was a miserable thing that ruined their countries," adding, "There is no such thing as a wish fulfilled for free in this world. Even if it happens by chance, there is always a corresponding price." This means that wishing misfortune on others ultimately returns to oneself. This gives us much to think about as well.