is a series of

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthur ...

short stories and novels written by Japanese author

Baku Yumemakura is a Japanese science fiction and adventure writer. His works have sold more than 20 million copies in Japan spread across more than 280 titles. He is published in a variety of formats including feature films, television shows, movies and comic b ...

. It follows the story of a fictionalized version of the Heian period '' onmyōji'' Abe no Seimei, a master in , a traditional Japanese form of cosmology. Most of the series was originally published as individual short stories, the first of which, originally titled just "Onmyōji", first appeared in the September 1986 issue of the publisher Bungeishunju's magazine ''All Yomimono'', and they have since appeared across a wide variety of publications, before being republished in collections. In addition to the short stories, the series also includes novels and picture books. A

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

adaptation by Reiko Okano was serialized from 1993 to 2005; it won two major prizes (the

Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Named after Osamu Tezuka, the is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan. Current ...

and the Seiun Award), and begot a sequel, ''Onmyōji: Tamatebako'', serialized from 2010 to 2017. Another manga series, ''Onmyōji: Taki Yashahime'', by Munku Mitsuki, was serialized from 2012 to 2015. The original stories and novels have also inspired several live-action adaptions: a Japanese television drama series was broadcast on

NHK G , abbreviated on-screen as NHK G, is the main television service of NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster. Its programming includes news, drama, quiz/variety shows, music, sports, anime, and specials which compete directly with the output of i ...

in 2001; two films directed by Yojiro Takita were released in 2001 and 2003; two TV movies were broadcast on TV Asahi in 2015 and 2020; a Chinese live-action film directed by Guo Jingming was released in 2020. An original net anime adaptation by Marvy Jack is set to premiere on Netflix in 2023. A Chinese video game loosely based on the series was released in 2018, and this in turn inspired a different Chinese live-action film, directed by Li Weiran, released in 2021. It also been adapted for the stage several times.

Publication

Written by

, the original "Onmyōji" short story first appeared in the Bungeishunju's ''All Yomimono'' in the September 1986 issue. Since then, additional short stories have been published across a wide variety of different publications, then later compiled and republished in both and format, with the first collection published by Bungeishunju on August 10, 1988, and on February 9, 1991, in these formats respectively. Yumemakura also wrote novel-length stories; the first one was published in by

The Asahi Shimbun Company is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

in 2000 and republished in by Bungeishunju in 2003. A two-part novel was published in in 2005 and in in 2008 by Bungeishunju. Three picture books with illustrations by Yutaka Murakami have also been published by Bungeishunju in 2001, 2003, and 2005.

Short story collections

Novel length-stories

Picture books

Adaptations

Films

* In 2001, it was adapted into the film '' Onmyōji'', followed by the 2003 sequel, ''

Onmyōji 2 is a 2003 Japanese historical fantasy film directed by Yōjirō Takita, starring Mansai Nomura as '' onmyōji'' Abe no Seimei. Both it and its predecessor, '' Onmyōji'', are based on the ''Onmyōji'' series of novels by author Baku Yumemakura ...

''; both were directed by Yōjirō Takita. * A Chinese adaptation of the original short stories and novels, titled '' The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity'', was released in China on December 25, 2020, and outside China on Netflix on February 5, 2021 * A different Chinese film, titled '' The Yinyang Master'', was released in China on February 12, 2021, and outside China on Netflix on March 19, 2021. This film is adapted from the video game ''Onmyoji'', which is based on the ''Onmyōji'' series of short stories and novels.

Manga

adaptation by Reiko Okano was serialized in two magazines between 1993 and 2005: It started in 's manga magazine ', where it ran from the July 1993 issue to the April 1996 issue. Afterward, ''Comic Burger'' was relaunched as '' Comic Birz'', and the series ran from the July 1996 issue to the May 1999 issue. It then transferred to Hakusensha's manga magazine ''

Melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

'', where it ran from the August 1999 issue to the May 2005 issue. Schola compiled the series into and released eight volumes between July 1994 and December 1998. Later, Hakusensha republished the older volumes with new volumes for a total of 13 released between July 12, 1999, and September 29, 2005. The first seven volumes were published in France by Delcourt between 2007 and 2013. ''

Music for Onmyo-Ji is a two disc image album for Reiko Okano's manga adaptation of Baku Yumemakura's novel series of the same name. The first disc features performances by gagaku ensemble , the second features performances by Brian Eno and J. Peter Schwalm. ...

'', an accompanying image album with manga artist Okano's participation as performer, was released in 2000. An exhibit at the

Kyoto International Manga Museum The Kyoto International Manga Museum (京都国際マンガミュージアム, Kyōto Kokusai Manga Myūjiamu) is located in Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The museum's collection includes approximately 300,000 items as of 2016, with 50,000 volumes ...

explored "the supernatural aspects of Kyoto" by using this manga as reference. The manga received the Grand Prize at the 2001

s. The series also received the Seiun Award for best science fiction comic in 2006. Also, in 2011, Paul Gravett included it in the book ''1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die''. A sequel manga series, also written by Okano, titled , was announced on October 28, 2010, and was serialized in ''Melody'' from December 28, 2010, to April 28, 2017. Between December 28, 2011, and July 28, 2017, seven bound volumes were released by Hakusensha. A manga adaptation of written by Munku Mitsuki was serialized in Tokuma Shoten's magazine '' Monthly Comic Ryū'' between March 19, 2012, and December 20, 2015. Eight volumes were released by Tokuma Shoten from September 13, 2012, to January 13, 2016.

Television

The novel has been adapted into three different television dramas. The first is a 10-episode series starring Goro Inagaki that was broadcast by NHK in 2001. The second is a TV movie starring

Matsumoto Kōshirō X is a Japanese actor and kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of ...

(then Ichikawa Somegorō VII) that was broadcast by TV Asahi in 2015. The third is another TV movie, starring

Kuranosuke Sasaki is a Japanese actor, known primary for his roles in Japanese television drama. Biography He was born into a family of a sake brewery in Kyoto, Japan. After graduating from Kobe University and resigning from an advertising agency, he played an ...

, that was also broadcast on TV Asahi, on March 29, 2020.

Anime

An original net anime adaptation was announced during Netflix's "Tudum" virtual event in late September 2022. The series is directed by Soubi Yamamoto and produced by Marvy Jack, with scripts written by Natsu Hashimoto and Yuiko Kato. It is set to premiere on Netflix in 2023.

References

External links

*
''Onmyōji'' (manga)
at Hakusensha's site * {{DEFAULTSORT:Onmyoji (manga) 1986 Japanese novels 1993 manga 2023 anime ONAs Book series introduced in 1986 Fantasy anime and manga Gentosha manga Hakusensha manga Historical anime and manga Japanese novels adapted into films Japanese serial novels Netflix original anime Seinen manga Josei manga Tokuma Shoten manga Upcoming Netflix original programming Winner of Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (Grand Prize)