Ashiya Dà Âman (ja. èÂÂå±ÂéÂÂæºÂ, spelled also è¦å±ÂéÂÂæºÂ), also known as Dà Âma Hà Âshi (éÂÂæ©æ³Â師) was an onmyà Âji who lived during the Heian period, in the reign of the Emperor Ichijà Â. The years of birth and death are unknown.
Despite being generally known as Ashiya Dà Âman nowadays, that name is unknown in the literature of the time when he was said to have been active. In addition, there are many unclear points about the real image, such as the theory that regards Ashiya Dà Âman and Dà Âma Hà Âshi to be different men. There is a record that "there was an onmyà Âji named Dà Âman in the Heian period, and he was hired by a noble woman named Takashina no Mitsuko (é«ÂéÂÂå ÂÃ¥ÂÂ), aunt of Fujiwara no Korechika" According to the ', which was a history of the Edo Period, he was from Kishi village in Harima Province (present day , Kakogawa, Hyà Âgo).
In most of the literature up to the Edo Period, he is portrayed as having a rivalry with Abe no Seimei (considered the founder of Onmyà Âdà Â), being the "evil Dà Âman" (æªã®éÂÂæºÂ), counterpart to the "Seimei of justice" (æ£義ã®æ´æÂÂ). He had power of jujutsu (referring to spellcasting, written åªè¡Â) in no way inferior to that of Seimei. He often tried to embarrass Seimei so that he could usurp his position. One noted story involved Dà Âman and the young Seimei in a divination duel to reveal the contents of a particular box. Dà Âman had another person put fifteen mandarin oranges into the box and "divined" that there were fifteen oranges in it. Seimei saw through the ruse, metamorphosed the oranges into rats, and stated that fifteen rats were in the box. When the rats were revealed, Dà Âman was shocked and defeated.
Being finally defeated by Seimei in a fight using shikigami, Ashiya Dà Âman was exiled to Harima Province. While Abe no Seimei was an onmyà Âji who was employed by Fujiwara no Michinaga, Dà Âman was an onmyà Âji who was employed by Fujiwara no Akimitsu. Akimitsu had a huge grudge against Fujiwara no Michinaga, because his daughter Enshi was the wife of the next Emperor of Japan, Prince Atsuakira, until the Prince abandoned her and their son to marry Michinaga's daughter. Legend says that the despair caused Enshi to fall ill and die, and so Akimitsu commissioned Ashiya Dà Âman to hex Michinaga. A curse caused all of Michinaga's daughters to die in quick succession, and the people who feared Akimitsu for what they assumed to be his divine power started calling him "Demonic Minister of the Left". There are also claims that a relative of Korechika, Takashina no Mitsuko, attempted to get Michinaga hexed, and was arrested for that.
As the legend of Abe no Seimei spread, so did the legend of DÃ Âman, and he has many alleged burial mounds (kubizuka) remaining in various parts of Japan. Also, Shoganji Temple in Nishikankicho Kishi in Kakogawa preserves the legend of Ashiya DÃ Âman.
Legends about DÃ Âman were later dramatized for JÃ Âruri and Kabuki, with the play ', written by Takeda Izumo I in 1734, being one of the most popular to this day. However, after the Meiji era, the performance of the third act, in which DÃ Âman is an important character, became rare, so it became difficult to understand why the work was named after him. When performing this work in Kabuki, there are many cases where only the 4th act is performed, and it is sometimes called "Kuzunoha" (DÃ Âman is only a minor character there). In the play, the sudden death of a court astrologer Kamo no Yasunori causes a succession battle between Abe no Seimei's father, Abe no Yasuna, and Ashiya DÃ Âman. In the final scenes of the play, there is a contest of magic between Seimei and Ashiya DÃ Âman, with Seimei finally inheriting the astrological duties.