| The date of Seimei's birth is contested. At least two sources claim he was born in 894, but others claim 921 as the date of his birth. | | The date of Seimei's birth is contested. At least two sources claim he was born in 894, but others claim 921 as the date of his birth. |
− | When Seimei was still young, he was taken as a student by [[Kamo no Tadayuki]] and inducted into the ways of Onmyodo. Tadayuki also had a son, [[Kamo no Yasunori|Yasunori]], who was famous for his knowledge of astronomy (''Tenmongaku''),<ref>The [[Onmyo Ryo]], or Bureau of Yin Yang, was in charge of divinations and portents as well as arranging the calendar.</ref> Yasunori taught both Seimei and his own son, [[Kamo no Mitsuyoshi|Mitsuyoshi]], teaching Seimei the way of astrology and divination while teaching his own son the art of calendar-making. Supposedly, his reasoning was that astrology, being so important, should be taught to the more capable of the two. Regardless, there was a break and the Abe<ref>Later the Tsuchimikado branch of the Abe.</ref> were given charge of astronomy and divination while the Kamo family took on the duties of the calendar, which was seen as the lesser task.<ref>Oddly enough, in China, precedence was usually reversed, with the calendar being considered much more important than the astronomy and divination.</ref> | + | When Seimei was still young, he was taken as a student by [[Kamo no Tadayuki]] and inducted into the ways of Onmyodo. Tadayuki also had a son, [[Kamo no Yasunori|Yasunori]], who was famous for his knowledge of astronomy (''Tenmongaku''),<ref>The [[Onmyo-ryo|Onmyô-ryô]], or Bureau of Yin Yang, was in charge of divinations and portents as well as arranging the calendar.</ref> Yasunori taught both Seimei and his own son, [[Kamo no Mitsuyoshi|Mitsuyoshi]], teaching Seimei the way of astrology and divination while teaching his own son the art of calendar-making. Supposedly, his reasoning was that astrology, being so important, should be taught to the more capable of the two. Regardless, there was a break and the Abe<ref>Later the Tsuchimikado branch of the Abe.</ref> were given charge of astronomy and divination while the Kamo family took on the duties of the calendar, which was seen as the lesser task.<ref>Oddly enough, in China, precedence was usually reversed, with the calendar being considered much more important than the astronomy and divination.</ref> |
| Despite this story, the 11th century chronicle ''Eiga Monogatari'' mentions Seimei and "Koei" (Mitsuyoshi) as two of the greatest diviners of their day, although there does appear to be a rivalry between the two families. | | Despite this story, the 11th century chronicle ''Eiga Monogatari'' mentions Seimei and "Koei" (Mitsuyoshi) as two of the greatest diviners of their day, although there does appear to be a rivalry between the two families. |