🌗 Phase II Chapter 11: Who is Ashiya Doman? | The Onmyoji Who Embraces Darkness to Know the Light—The True Integrative Philosophy Hidden in the 'Shadow' of Abe no Seimei

🌌 PHASE SPINOUT SERIES #020

🌑 I | The Sage Who Dwells in Darkness—The Heretic Called Doman

His name is—Ashiya Doman. While known as the arch-nemesis of Abe no Seimei, his existence is not merely that of a 'villain'.
Rather, he is
the other side of the circle of Yin and Yang. If Seimei is one who looks up to the 'heavens' and reads the stars, Doman was one who listened to the 'earth' and read the darkness.Rather than serving the gods, he stood by


human suffering and impurity
. For this reason, the world called him an 'evil sorcerer'.However, those who place themselves in darkness know the light best.He did not view 'Yin' as 'evil'.Instead, he taught that Yin is the 'phase of rest' that protects life.
　　　'Without the night, the stars would not speak.'

His words were feared and misunderstood.
But Doman's gaze always looked deep into human suffering.
He listened to the voices of those called demons,

and deciphered the prayers of sealed gods.

—This was not 'forbidden art'.
It was the act of picking up the 'truth that had been ignored'.

🔥 II | Heretical Teachings—The True Law Revealed by Breaking Precepts

People of the world called Doman a 'rule-breaking monk'.
His actions certainly transcended the precepts.
Leaving the temple, breaking taboos, manipulating curses, and speaking with demons.
But this was not depravity—it was training to cross boundaries. While Seimei embodied 'justice' by upholding order and norms, Doman saw through the moments when that justice bound people.

　　　'The law exists to save people. But people often perish to uphold the law.'
　　

Facing this contradiction, Doman deliberately chose the path of 'breaking precepts'.
It was not the destruction of order, but

a deviation for the sake of compassion

. He used 'curses' to exorcise illness and 'forbidden arts' to open people's hearts.To him, sorcery was not a 'key' to change the outside, but to liberate the darkness within.It is said that one night, a disciple asked:　　　'Master, why do you serve demons?'Doman smiled and replied:
　　　'Demons, too, are born from the human heart.
　　　If so, one cannot save people without knowing demons.'
Those words were filled not with fear, but with deep kindness.

Those who reject darkness cannot understand the light.

Doman's 'breaking of precepts' was a path of embracing darkness and transcending the light.

🌕 III | Those Who Do Not Know the Light Speak of Darkness—The Reverse Side of Enlightenment

Abe no Seimei and Ashiya Doman.
The two were sometimes enemies, and sometimes existed like mirrors reflecting each other.
But in truth, the paths they walked were two sides of the same coin.

What Seimei looked up to was the heavens—
the movement of celestial bodies, the order of the gods, the logic of pure light.
What Doman gazed upon was the earth—
the resentment seeping into the soil, the breathing of the darkness that circulates life.
They were viewing the same universe from different angles.

While Seimei valued 'purification', Doman valued 'acceptance'.

　　　'Impurity is not something to be erased.
　　　It is something to be embraced, dissolved, and returned to life.'

As this saying symbolizes, Doman's enlightenment was to 'see darkness within the light, and find light within the darkness.' To him, good and evil were not absolute, but flowing waves. A moment of evil nurtures the next good. A single despair gives birth to true prayer. Only those who know this can handle true Yin and Yang. An ancient record describes the night Seimei and Doman confronted each other: 'Thunder roared in the sky, and water overflowed on the earth. When their curses crossed, heaven and earth fell into silence for a moment.' In that silence, it is said Seimei realized: 'If there is one who seals the darkness, there must be one who understands the darkness.' Their battle was never about deciding a winner. It was a ritual to maintain the world—a 'resonance' to confirm the balance of light and darkness. It is said that Doman disappeared into the mountains afterward. But if you listen to the sound of the wind echoing in the night, his voice still remains: 'Do not fear the Yin. Darkness is the place where light sleeps.' That was the reverse side of his enlightenment. And the true meaning of the name 'Onmyoji'.

🕯 IV | The Secret of Forbidden Arts—Those Who Unbind and Those Who Bind Curses

People feel fear at the word 'curse' (noroi).
But to Doman, a curse was not a power to bind, but a power to connect. It is the act of connecting heaven and earth, linking people and souls, and weaving memories and fate like threads.
The essence of a 'curse' was the 'resonance' that dwells within the words themselves.
　　　

'Words can become blades or prayers.　　　Used wrongly, they are a curse.
　　　Used truly, they are a blessing.'
This passage expresses his philosophy most succinctly.

Doman's arts were not for summoning demons or destroying enemies.
They were arts for 'reconnecting what had been severed'—
a healing sorcery.According to one legend, he sat by the bedside of a sick child, chanting sutras quietly before a flame.

The cadence of the spell was low, eventually melting into the wind as the candlelight flickered.
At that moment, the child's breathing became calm, and the mother wept.
Doman left only these words:
　　　'Let go of your fear. Darkness exists to embrace.'
　　　That night, a disciple asked:

　　　'Master, will you not exorcise the darkness?'
　　　'I do not exorcise it.

　　　I accept it and unravel it.

　　　I quietly release the souls that have been bound too tightly.'
To him, 'forbidden arts' were not simply realms that humans must not touch.
Rather, they were


doors to untie the 'bindings' hidden deep within the heart
.Anger, jealousy, sadness—these, too, are proof of life.Instead of sealing everything away, he acknowledged, dissolved, and returned them to the light.Doman walked the path of the dark Shura, but his ultimate secret led to 'forgiveness'.
That is the true essence of forbidden arts.
One who knows darkness, transcends darkness, and prays even while embracing it.

That was the existence known as Ashiya Doman.

🌘 V | Light Within the Darkness—The True Form of the Onmyoji

Only those who have transcended everything can forgive everything.
That was the destination Ashiya Doman reached.

He did not fear the darkness; rather, he submerged himself within its embrace.
If jealousy, sorrow, and hatred are emotions that one cannot avoid while living,
he preached that instead of casting them aside,
embracing them is the true path of discipline.If Seimei preached the 'Laws of Heaven,' Doman protected the 'Emotions of Man.'It was not a conflict between light and darkness, but


the law of the universe where above and below, stillness and motion, reason and emotion—all circulate.

was. 'Light does not fear the darkness, and darkness does not envy the light. Because they exist for one another, this world can breathe.'They say his end was peaceful.

The smoke from the incense he lit in his mountain hermitage rose to the sky and dissolved into the wind.
His disciples called this state 'Return to One.'

Light and darkness, yin and yang, life and death—
he vanished as if melting all of these into one.
In later ages, people praised Seimei as a god,
and feared Doman as a demon.
But those who truly understood 'Yin and Yang' know.

If Seimei is the light of the front, Doman is the light of the back—
the world cannot exist without either.
We who live in the modern age also
harbor both 'Seimei' and 'Doman' within our hearts.
Reason and emotion, discipline and impulse, hope and despair.

If you deny one, the other becomes distorted.
What Doman left behind was not a curse, but 'Harmony.'
It is the wisdom of remaining beautiful even while embracing opposing forces.
His teachings still,

quietly continue to speak of the importance of not fearing the darkness and forgiving oneself.

📨 To you who have read this far
If you feel 'darkness' deep in your heart right now,
it is proof that you still believe in the light.
I hope you will not fear that darkness, but embrace it as if to warm it.
Surely, deep within it, your own 'Doman' is smiling.
Next Chapter—
'Jung | The Depths of the Heart and the Memories of the Gods'
The unconscious and archetypes. A 'scientist of the heart' who inherits Doman's darkness appears.

🧠 Summary

Ashiya Doman is not merely a 'villain.'
He was an Onmyoji who did not deny or fear the darkness, but returned it to the light by embracing it.
If Abe no Seimei protected order and the laws of heaven, Doman listened to the emotions of man and the breath of darkness.
Transcending good and evil, leading conflict toward integration—
that is the wisdom of 'True Yin and Yang' that Doman left behind.

🌸 Shizuku Amano-san! | Thank you for featuring this in your magazine 📖✨

Shizuku Amano-san,
thank you so much for always adding my work to your magazine 🙏✨

That you picked up such a delicate and personal theme as 'Nights when I eat even though I'm not hungry,'
resonated quietly, yet deeply 🌙

I feel that within the atmosphere of your magazine, Shizuku-san,
this piece is able to breathe gently 🍃

For connecting such a wonderful connection and space,
I am truly grateful 📚✨
I look forward to your continued support 🌸

The magazine it was featured in is here 👇

The article it was featured in is here 👇