Abe no Seimei (Kamo Yasunari, Kamo Hogon, Abe no Yasunari) is in Japanese folklore, a hero-magician, son of the poet Abe no Yasuna and Kuzunoha, a white fox. Abe no Seimei was the court astrologer and is sometimes portrayed with his fox mother, Kuzunoha, who holds a writing brush in her mouth. Abe no Seimei once cured the Emperor Toba of a grave illness when he showed that the emperor’s favourite mistress, Tamamo no Maye, was actually a nine-tailed fox who had bewitched him. Sometimes he is portrayed in a wizard’s competition, conjuring white mice from an empty box.

SEE ALSO:

• Japanese Mythology – Legend and Folklore

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, Third Edition – Written by Anthony S. Mercatante & James R. Dow-Copyright © 2009 by Anthony S. Mercatante