Abe no Yoshihira (安倍吉平)
ABE no Yoshihira (954? - February 3, 1027) was an Onmyoji (Master of Yin yang), and Inyoka (the Yin and Yang school of philosophy) in the Heian period. He was the eldest son of ABE no Seimei (there is a different opinion). He held a succession of posts; Onmyo hakase (master of onmyo), Onmyo no suke (Assistant Director of Onmyoryo, or Bureau of Divination), Kazue no suke, Kazue no kami (the head of budget bureau), Daizen no daibu (Master of the Palace Table), Chief of grain warehouse (Kokuso-in betto). He was appointed to tenmon misso (reporting unusual astronomical phenomena to the emperor), and a Jushiijo (Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade).
Accomplishments
ABE no Yoshihira was known as an Onmyo hakase (master of onmyo) in 991. He was appointed to a Jushiinoge (Junior Forth Rank, Lower Grade) in 1016 after he served as an Onmyo no suke (Assistant Director of Onmyoryo, or Bureau of Divination) in 993, and then he received an Imperial appointment letter for tenmon misso (reporting unusual astronomical phenomena to the emperor) on July 19, 1019, after his brother, ABE no Yoshimasa passed away. He was appointed to a Jushiijo (Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade) for his distinguished services in preparation for an imperial visit to Kasuga-taisha Shrine in 1021.
Yoshihira was treated preferentially by FUJIWARA no Michinaga and FUJIWARA no Sanesuke in the same way as his father, Seimei, was treated by them. In 'Hobutsushu' (A Collection of Treasures), it is stated that he prayed to drive the Imperial Prince Tomohira's disembodied spirit off from FUJIWARA no Yorimichi, a child of Michinaga, with KAMO no Mitsuyoshi, a child of KAMO no Yasunori.
He also performed festivals including the Goryu-sai festival to pray for rain and the Shikakushikai-sai festival to remove disasters as an Onmyoji. (it is stated in 'Nihongi Ryaku' (Summary of Japanese Chronologies), etc.)
He was a successor for ABE no Seimei, and governed the Onmyoryo (Bureau of Divination) as a Tenmondo (ancient horoscopy) Soke (the head family or house), or an Onmyodo (way of Yin and Yang; occult divination system based on the Taoist theory of the five elements) Soke (the head family or house), with his brother, Yoshimasa and another Onmyodo Soke, KAMO no Mitsuyoshi of the Kamo clan.
Legend of Yoshihira
Yoshihira left a legend as his father, Seimei left. According to 'Kokon chomon ju' (A collection of Tales Heard, Past and Present), Yoshihira was drinking sake with his friend, TANBA no Masatada. Masatada was so busy talking that he never had a cup of sake in his hand.
Suddenly, Yoshihira said to Masatada, 'You had better drink up your sake, before an earthquake occurs.'
Then an earthquake occurred just after he said it. This episode shows that Yoshihira was as good an Onmyoji as his father, ABE no Seimei was.
He was also excellent in fortune-telling, and he was called 'sasu no miko.'
Assumption that Yoshihira was an elder brother of Yoshimasa with a different mother (concubine)
In general, it is believed that ABE no Seimei had two children; the eldest son, Yoshihira, and the second son, Yoshimasa. According to another story (including Shinji KOSAKA's), ABE no Yoshihira was an elder brother of Yoshimasa with a different mother (concubine), and Yoshimasa was the legitimate son of ABE no seimei considering that the age gap between Yoshihira and Yoshimasa was about a year (precisely unknown).
However, in "Shoyuki" (the diary of FUJIWARA no Sanesuke) or "Mido Kanpakuki" (FUJIWARA no Michinaga's diary), Yoshihira was quoted more often than ABE no Yoshimasa; it can't be denied that Yoshihira was recognized as a successor for ABE no Seimei. Although Yoshimasa was appointed to an Onmyo no kami (Director of Onmyoryo, or Bureau of Divination), it is still common to regard ABE no Yoshihira as a legitimate son.