Vol.163 遺伝子パネル検査はこれからのがん治療のパスポートになる
7月に入って、関東地方は身体に堪える暑さが続いています。もしかしたら、もう梅雨明けしてしまっているのかもしれません。
一方、九州北部は大変な豪雨とのことで、お住まいの方にはお見舞い申し上げます。
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【記事1】 遺伝子パネル検査はこれからのがん治療のパスポートになる
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遺伝子パネル検査についてはこれまでも何度かメルマガで取り上げてきました。
背景と現状のおさらいですが、、、
・がんを引き起こす様々な遺伝子異常がわかってきた中で、一つ一つの遺伝子異常の有無を調べていく既存のやり方ではキリがないので、まとめて一気に調べる「遺伝子パネル検査」が出てきた
・遺伝子の異常がわかっても、対応する治療薬が存在しない場合が多い。とはいえ、存在する場合はその治療薬を使わなかった場合と比べ、圧倒的に優れた治療効果が期待できる
・現状、日本だと、当該検査の医療費は56万円で、保険が適用されると患者負担はその1-3割
・日本で保険が適用されるのは、「標準治療がない、又は終了する見込みである固形がん」などごく限られたケースで、それも一人一回のみとなっている
さて、この遺伝子パネル検査に関連する論考が出てきました。
■”Universal Germline and Tumor Genomic Testing Needed to Win the War Against Cancer: Genomics Is the Diagnosis”「がんとの闘いに勝つために必要な、生殖細胞系列と腫瘍の普遍的な遺伝子検査:遺伝子は診断である」(Journal of Clinical Oncology)
この論考の中で、首がもげるほど頷けたのが、
「がんとの戦いに本気で勝とうとするならば、がんを治療するためにも、がんを早期に発見するためにも、がんに関するあらゆる情報を得る必要がある。」
という一文です。
今のところ、遺伝子パネル検査が普及していないのはコストの問題が一番大きいわけですが、技術の発展と共に、今後さらにコストは下がっていく可能性が大きいですし、普及すれば患者さんが無駄な検査や治療をするリスクとコストを下げ、治療成績が上がることも期待できます。
折しも、日本では、患者会から遺伝子パネル検査に関する要望書が政府に対して上げられました。
■「『適切なタイミングでのがん遺伝子パネル検査の実施に関する要望書』厚生労働省への提出と財務副大臣への手交のお知らせ」(一般社団法人 全国がん患者団体連合会)
”米国でのがん遺伝子パネル検査については、「全てのStageⅢ、StageⅣの進行再発がん、あるいは再発、再燃、転移がん」の患者さんが対象となっており、初回治療の患者さんを対象にがん遺伝子パネル検査を実施し、その検査結果に基づいて「従来の標準治療の実施」「コンパニオン診断の結果に基づく分子標的薬の投与」「がん遺伝子パネル検査の結果に基づく新たな治療候補薬の選定(治験やコンパッショネートユースなど)」いずれかの治療選択を可能とする「プレシジョン・メディシン(精密医療)」が初回治療から可能となっています”
とあるように、米国の方が一歩進んでいるのが現状です。
日本でも、もう一段遺伝子パネル検査のコストが下がって、誰もが治療の中で何度か使うような「がん治療のパスポート」的な存在になる時代が、���くやってくることを期待したいですね。
※本項執筆時点(2023年7月13日)で、筆者は複数の遺伝子パネル検査機器メーカーの株式を保有しています。
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【記事2】すったもんだの保険適用:オンコタイプ DX 乳がん再発スコアプログラム
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ホルモン陽性・HER2陰性の早期乳がんの患者さんで、「術後化学療法」を行なうかどうかというのは、これまで医療者にとっても患者にとっても悩みどころでした。
再発リスクは下げたいけれど、術後化学療法での副作用を経験したくないという患者心理がある中で、どのような人であれば術後化学療法をやる必要なしという明確な”線引き”がなかったのです。
そこに出てきたのが「オンコタイプDX」という検査です。腫瘍に関連する21個の遺伝子を解析し、再発リスクを「RS(Recurrent Score)」という形でスコア化します。
現在、乳がん診療ガイドラインでは、Oncotype DXを用いたTAILORx試験の結果に基づき、
「Oncotype DXのRSが25以下の場合には,リンパ節転移陰性であれば術後化学療法を省略することを強く推奨する」
としています。
■「CQ11 ホルモン受容体陽性HER2陰性乳癌に対して,多遺伝子アッセイの結果によって,術後化学療法を省略することは推奨されるか?」(乳癌診療ガイドライン2022年版)
TAILORx試験では、リンパ節転移陰性でRSが25以下の集団は、化学療法をやった場合(化学療法+ホルモン療法)とやらなかった場合(ホルモン療法のみ)で
5年IDFS(再発しないで元気に過ごした患者の比率):93.1% vs 92.8%
で、有意差はなく、化学療法を加えるメリットはないという結果になりました。
ということで、オンコタイプDXを使用する意義も示され、日本でも2021年8月に承認されたわけですが、ここからすったもんだがありました。
■「オンコタイプDXに関するこれまでの経緯と今後の対応について」(厚生労働省)
いやあ、当該企業(エグザクトサイエンス株式会社)に対して完全に怒ってますね、厚生労働省(苦笑)
2021年12月1日までにプログラムの修正を約束していたのに、企業側が守らなかったということで、
「当企業に対しては、厚生労働省に対して、正当な理由なく安定供給が困難な事態を遅滞なく 報告しなかったことから、企業からの再発防止策等の改善策が示されない限り、経済課において今後の保険適用の手続きを留保する。」
とまで書かれてしまってます。
これがようやくのこと、本年9月に保険収載されることになりました。
■「乳がん遺伝子検査、9月から公的医療保険の対象に…3割負担で13万500円」(読売新聞オンライン)
問題が起きてから解決するまでなぜ2年もの時間がかかったのか等、モヤモヤは残りますが、ともかくも正常な環境下でこの検査が普及する体制が整ったことを、まずは歓迎したいと思います。
※本項執筆時点(2023年7月13日)で、筆者はオンコ���イプDXに関して、特筆すべき利益相反はありません。
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科学的根拠に基づきながら一般の方に面白く・わかり易く医療情報を伝えます
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Legends of the humanoids
Reptilian humanoids (5)
Wuxing – the connections between the Five Dragon Kings (Ref) and the Five Elements philosophy
To better understand the origins of the Five Dragon Kings and the ancient Chinese legend, it is worth mentioning the wuxing of natural philosophy, which states that all things are composed of five elements: fire, water, wood, metal and earth.
The underlying idea is that the five elements 'influence each other, and that through their birth and death, heaven and earth change and circulate'.
The five elements are described as followed:
Wood/Spring: a period of growth, which generates abundant vitality, movement and wind.
Fire/Summer: a period of swelling, flowering, expanding with heat.
Earth is associated with ripening of grains in the yellow fields of late summer.
Metal/Autumn: a period of harvesting, collecting and dryness.
Water/Winter: a period of retreat, stillness, contracting and coolness.
The wuxing system, in use since the Han dynasty (2nd century BCE), appears in many seemingly disparate fields of early Chinese thought, including music, feng shui, alchemy, astrology, martial arts, military strategy, I Ching divination, and traditional medicine, serving as a metaphysics based on cosmic analogy.
The wuxing originally referred to the five major planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Mars and Venus), which were thought of as the five forces that create life on earth. Wu Xing litterally means moving star and describes the five types of Qi (all the vital substances) cycles through various stages of transformation. As yin and yang continuously adjust to one another and transform into one another in a never-ending dance of harmony, they tend to do so in a predictable pattern.
The lists of correlations for the five elements are diverse, but there are two cycles explaining the major interaction. The yin-yang interaction, which by increasing or decreasing the qualities and functions associated with a particular phase, it may either nourish a phase that is in deficiency or drain a phase that is in excess or restrain a phase that is exerting too much influence (see below):
The Creation Cycle (Yang)
Wood feeds Fire
Fire creates Earth (ash)
Earth bears Metal
Metal collects Water
Water nourishes Wood
The Destruction Cycle (Yin)
Wood parts Earth
Earth dams (or absorbs) Water
Water extinguishes Fire
Fire melts Metal
Metal chops Wood
The Huainanzi (2nd BCE) describes the five colored dragons (azure/green, red, white, black, yellow) and their associations (Chapter 4: Terrestrial Forms), as well as the placement of sacred beasts in the five directions (the Four Symbols beasts, dragon, tiger, bird, tortoise in the four cardinal directions and the yellow dragon.
伝説のヒューマノイドたち
ヒト型爬虫類 (5)
五方龍王(参照)と五行思想の関連性
ここで、五方龍王の起源、そして古代中国の伝説をよく理解するために、万物は火・水・木・金・土の5種類の元素からなる、という自然哲学の五行思想について触れておきましょう。 5種類の元素は「互いに影響を与え合い、その生滅盛衰によって天地万物が変化し、循環する」という考えが根底に存在する。
五行は次のように説明されている:
木は、春の豊かな生命力、動き、風を生み出す成長期。
火は、夏の太陽の暖かさの下で行われる成熟の過程、熱で膨張する時期。
土は、晩夏の黄色い野原での穀物の成熟に関連している。
金は、秋の収穫、収集、乾燥の時期。
水は、冬の雪に覆われた暗い大地の中に潜む新しい生命の可能性と静寂の時期。 漢の時代 (紀元前2世紀頃) から使用されてきた五行説は、音楽、風水、錬金術、占星術、武術、軍事戦略、易経、伝統医学など、中国初期の思想の一見バラバラに見える多くの分野に登場し、宇宙の類推に基づく形而上学として機能している。
五行とは文字通り「動く星」を意味し、五種類の気(生命維持に必要なすべての物質)が様々な変容の段階を経て循環することを表している。陰と陽は絶え間なく互いに調整し合い、調和の終わりのないダンスで互いに変化していくため、予測可能なパターンで変化する傾向がある。
五行の相関関係は多様だが、主要な相互作用を説明する2つのサイクルがある。陰陽の相互作用は、特定の相に関連する資質や機能を増減させることで、不足している相に栄養を与えたり、過剰な相を排出したり、影響力を及ぼしすぎている相を抑制したりする (以下参照):
相生(陽)のサイクル
木は燃えて火を生む
火が土 (灰) をつくる
土は金属を産出する
金属は表面に水を集める
水は木を育てる
相克(陰)のサイクル
木は大地を構成する
土は水を堰き止める
水は火を消す
火は金属を溶かす
金属が木を切る
『淮南子』(紀元前2世紀)には、五色の龍(紺碧・緑、赤、白、黒、黄)とその関連性 (第4章: 地の形)、五方位への聖獣の配置(四枢の四象徴獣、龍、虎、鳥、亀、黄龍)が記述されている。
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Shikigami and onmyōdō through history: truth, fiction and everything in between
Abe no Seimei exorcising disease spirits (疫病神, yakubyōgami), as depicted in the Fudō Riyaku Engi Emaki. Two creatures who might be shikigami are visible in the bottom right corner (wikimedia commons; identification following Bernard Faure’s Rage and Ravage, pp. 57-58)
In popular culture, shikigami are basically synonymous with onmyōdō. Was this always the case, though? And what is a shikigami, anyway? These questions are surprisingly difficult to answer. I’ve been meaning to attempt to do so for a longer while, but other projects kept getting in the way. Under the cut, you will finally be able to learn all about this matter.
This isn’t just a shikigami article, though. Since historical context is a must, I also provide a brief history of onmyōdō and some of its luminaries. You will also learn if there were female onmyōji, when stars and time periods turn into deities, what onmyōdō has to do with a tale in which Zhong Kui became a king of a certain city in India - and more!
The early days of onmyōdō
In order to at least attempt to explain what the term shikigami might have originally entailed, I first need to briefly summarize the history of onmyōdō (陰陽道). This term can be translated as “way of yin and yang”, and at the core it was a Japanese adaptation of the concepts of, well, yin and yang, as well as the five elements. They reached Japan through Daoist and Buddhist sources. Daoism itself never really became a distinct religion in Japan, but onmyōdō is arguably among the most widespread adaptations of its principles in Japanese context.
Kibi no Makibi, as depicted by Yoshitoshi Tsukioka (wikimedia commons)
It’s not possible to speak of a singular founder of onmyōdō comparable to the patriarchs of Buddhist schools. Bernard Faure notes that in legends the role is sometimes assigned to Kibi no Makibi, an eighth century official who spent around 20 years in China. While he did bring many astronomical treatises with him when he returned, this is ultimately just a legend which developed long after he passed away.
In reality onmyōdō developed gradually starting with the sixth century, when Chinese methods of divination and treatises dealing with these topics first reached Japan. Early on Buddhist monks from the Korean kingdom of Baekje were the main sources of this knowledge. We know for example that the Soga clan employed such a specialist, a certain Gwalleuk (観勒; alternatively known under the Japanese reading of his name, Kanroku).
Obviously, divination was viewed as a very serious affair, so the imperial court aimed to regulate the continental techniques in some way. This was accomplished by emperor Tenmu with the formation of the onmyōryō (陰陽寮), “bureau of yin and yang” as a part of the ritsuryō system of governance. Much like in China, the need to control divination was driven by the fears that otherwise it would be used to legitimize courtly intrigues against the emperor, rebellions and other disturbances.
Officials taught and employed by onmyōryō were referred to as onmyōji (陰陽師). This term can be literally translated as “yin-yang master”. In the Nara period, they were understood essentially as a class of public servants. Their position didn’t substantially differ from that of other specialists from the onmyōryō: calendar makers, officials responsible for proper measurement of time and astrologers. The topics they dealt with evidently weren’t well known among commoners, and they were simply typical members of the literate administrative elite of their times.
Onmyōdō in the Heian period: magic, charisma and nobility
The role of onmyōji changed in the Heian period. They retained the position of official bureaucratic diviners in employ of the court, but they also acquired new duties. The distinction between them and other onmyōryō officials became blurred. Additionally their activity extended to what was collectively referred to as jujutsu (呪術), something like “magic” though this does not fully reflect the nuances of this term. They presided over rainmaking rituals, purification ceremonies, so-called “earth quelling”, and establishing complex networks of temporal and directional taboos.
A Muromachi period depiction of Abe no Seimei (wikimedia commons)
The most famous historical onmyōji like Kamo no Yasunori and his student Abe no Seimei were active at a time when this version of onmyōdō was a fully formed - though obviously still evolving - set of practices and beliefs. In a way they represented a new approach, though - one in which personal charisma seemed to matter just as much, if not more, than official position. This change was recognized as a breakthrough by at least some of their contemporaries. For example, according to the diary of Minamoto no Tsuneyori, the Sakeiki (左經記), “in Japan, the foundations of onmyōdō were laid by Yasunori”.
The changes in part reflected the fact that onmyōji started to be privately contracted for various reasons by aristocrats, in addition to serving the state. Shin’ichi Shigeta notes that it essentially turned them from civil servants into tradespeople. However, he stresses they cannot be considered clergymen: their position was more comparable to that of physicians, and there is no indication they viewed their activities as a distinct religion. Indeed, we know of multiple Heian onmyōji, like Koremune no Fumitaka or Kamo no Ieyoshi, who by their own admission were devout Buddhists who just happened to work as professional diviners.
Shin’ichi Shigeta notes is evidence that in addition to the official, state-sanctioned onmyōji, “unlicensed” onmyōji who acted and dressed like Buddhist clergy, hōshi onmyōji (法師陰陽師) existed. The best known example is Ashiya Dōman, a mainstay of Seimei legends, but others are mentioned in diaries, including the famous Pillow Book. It seems nobles particularly commonly employed them to curse rivals. This was a sphere official onmyōji abstained from due to legal regulations. Curses were effectively considered crimes, and government officials only performed apotropaic rituals meant to protect from them.
The Heian period version of onmyōdō captivated the imagination of writers and artists, and its slightly exaggerated version present in classic literature like Konjaku Monogatari is essentially what modern portrayals in fiction tend to go back to.
Medieval onmyōdō: from abstract concepts to deities
Gozu Tennō (wikimedia commons)
Further important developments occurred between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. This period was the beginning of the Japanese “middle ages” which lasted all the way up to the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. The focus in onmyōdō in part shifted towards new, or at least reinvented, deities, such as calendarical spirits like Daishōgun (大将軍) and Ten’ichijin (天一神), personifications of astral bodies and concepts already crucial in earlier ceremonies. There was also an increased interest in Chinese cosmological figures like Pangu, reimagined in Japan as “king Banko”. However, the most famous example is arguably Gozu Tennō, who you might remember from my Susanoo article.
The changes in medieval onmyōdō can be described as a process of convergence with esoteric Buddhism. The points of connection were rituals focused on astral and underworld deities, such as Taizan Fukun or Shimei (Chinese Siming). Parallels can be drawn between this phenomenon and the intersection between esoteric Buddhism and some Daoist schools in Tang China. Early signs of the development of a direct connection between onmyōdō and Buddhism can already be found in sources from the Heian period, for example Kamo no Yasunori remarked that he and other onmyōji depend on the same sources to gain proper understanding of ceremonies focused on the Big Dipper as Shingon monks do.
Much of the information pertaining to the medieval form of onmyōdō is preserved in Hoki Naiden (ほき内伝; “Inner Tradition of the Square and the Round Offering Vessels”), a text which is part divination manual and part a collection of myths. According to tradition it was compiled by Abe no Seimei, though researchers generally date it to the fourteenth century. For what it’s worth, it does seem likely its author was a descendant of Seimei, though.
Outside of specialized scholarship Hoki Naiden is fairly obscure today, but it’s worth noting that it was a major part of the popular perception of onmyōdō in the Edo period. A novel whose influence is still visible in the modern image of Seimei, Abe no Seimei Monogatari (安部晴明物語), essentially revolves around it, for instance.
Onmyōdō in the Edo period: occupational licensing
Novels aside, the first post-medieval major turning point for the history of onmyōdō was the recognition of the Tsuchimikado family as its official overseers in 1683. They were by no means new to the scene - onmyōji from this family already served the Ashikaga shoguns over 250 years earlier. On top of that, they were descendants of the earlier Abe family, the onmyōji par excellence. The change was not quite the Tsuchimikado’s rise, but rather the fact the government entrusted them with essentially regulating occupational licensing for all onmyōji, even those who in earlier periods existed outside of official administration.
As a result of the new policies, various freelance practitioners could, at least in theory, obtain a permit to perform the duties of an onmyōji. However, as the influence of the Tsuchimikado expanded, they also sought to oblige various specialists who would not be considered onmyōji otherwise to purchase licenses from them. Their aim was to essentially bring all forms of divination under their control. This extended to clergy like Buddhist monks, shugenja and shrine priests on one hand, and to various performers like members of kagura troupes on the other.
Makoto Hayashi points out that while throughout history onmyōji has conventionally been considered a male occupation, it was possible for women to obtain licenses from the Tsuchimikado. Furthermore, there was no distinct term for female onmyōji, in contrast with how female counterparts of Buddhist monks, shrine priests and shugenja were referred to with different terms and had distinct roles defined by their gender.
As far as I know there’s no earlier evidence for female onmyōji, though, so it’s safe to say their emergence had a lot to do with the specifics of the new system. It seems the poems of the daughter of Kamo no Yasunori (her own name is unknown) indicate she was familiar with yin-yang theory or at least more broadly with Chinese philosophy, but that’s a topic for a separate article (stay tuned), and it's not quite the same, obviously.
The Tsuchimikado didn’t aim to create a specific ideology or systems of beliefs. Therefore, individual onmyōji - or, to be more accurate, individual people with onmyōji licenses - in theory could pursue new ideas. This in some cases lead to controversies: for instance, some of the people involved in the (in)famous 1827 Osaka trial of alleged Christians (whether this label really is applicable is a matter of heated debate) were officially licensed onmyōji. Some of them did indeed possess translated books written by Portuguese missionaries, which obviously reflected Catholic outlook. However, Bernard Faure suggests that some of the Edo period onmyōji might have pursued Portuguese sources not strictly because of an interest in Catholicism but simply to obtain another source of astronomical knowledge.
The legacy of onmyōdō
In the Meiji period, onmyōdō was banned alongside shugendō. While the latter tradition experienced a revival in the second half of the twentieth century, the former for the most part didn’t. However, that doesn’t mean the history of onmyōdō ends once and for all in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Even today in some parts of Japan there are local religious traditions which, while not identical with historical onmyōdō, retain a considerable degree of influence from it. An example often cited in scholarship is Izanagi-ryū (いざなぎ流) from the rural Monobe area in the Kōchi Prefecture. Mitsuki Ueno stresses that the occasional references to Izanagi-ryū as “modern onmyōdō” in literature from the 1990s and early 2000s are inaccurate, though. He points out they downplay the unique character of this tradition, and that it shows a variety of influences. Similar arguments have also been made regarding local traditions from the Chūgoku region.
Until relatively recently, in scholarship onmyōdō was basically ignored as superstition unworthy of serious inquiries. This changed in the final decades of the twentieth century, with growing focus on the Japanese middle ages among researchers. The first monographs on onmyōdō were published in the 1980s. While it’s not equally popular as a subject of research as esoteric Buddhism and shugendō, formerly neglected for similar reasons, it has nonetheless managed to become a mainstay of inquiries pertaining to the history of religion in Japan.
Yoshitaka Amano's illustration of Baku Yumemakura's fictionalized portrayal of Abe no Seimei (right) and other characters from his novels (reproduced here for educational purposes only)
Of course, it’s also impossible to talk about onmyōdō without mentioning the modern “onmyōdō boom”. Starting with the 1980s, onmyōdō once again became a relatively popular topic among writers. Novel series such as Baku Yumemakura’s Onmyōji, Hiroshi Aramata’s Teito Monogatari or Natsuhiko Kyōgoku’s Kyōgōkudō and their adaptations in other media once again popularized it among general audiences. Of course, since these are fantasy or mystery novels, their historical accuracy tends to vary (Yumemakura in particular is reasonably faithful to historical literature, though). Still, they have a lasting impact which would be impossible to accomplish with scholarship alone.
Shikigami: historical truth, historical fiction, or both?
You might have noticed that despite promising a history of shikigami, I haven’t used this term even once through the entire crash course in history of onmyōdō. This was a conscious choice. Shikigami do not appear in any onmyōdō texts, even though they are a mainstay of texts about onmyōdō, and especially of modern literature involving onmyōji.
It would be unfair to say shikigami and their prominence are merely a modern misconception, though. Virtually all of the famous legends about onmyōji feature shikigami, starting with the earliest examples from the eleventh century. Based on Konjaku Monogatari, there evidently was a fascination with shikigami at the time of its compilation. Fujiwara no Akihira in the Shinsarugakuki treats the control of shikigami as an essential skill of an onmyōji, alongside the abilities to “freely summon the twelve guardian deities, call thirty-six types of wild birds (...), create spells and talismans, open and close the eyes of kijin (鬼神; “demon gods”), and manipulate human souls”.
It is generally agreed that such accounts, even though they belong to the realm of literary fiction, can shed light on the nature and importance of shikigami. They ultimately reflect their historical context to some degree. Furthermore, it is not impossible that popular understanding of shikigami based on literary texts influenced genuine onmyōdō tradition. It’s worth pointing out that today legends about Abe no Seimei involving them are disseminated by two contemporary shrines dedicated to him, the Seimei Shrine (晴明神社) in Kyoto and the Abe no Seimei Shrine (安倍晴明神社) in Osaka. Interconnected networks of exchange between literature and religious practice are hardly a unique or modern phenomenon.
However, even with possible evidence from historical literature taken into account, it is not easy to define shikigami. The word itself can be written in three different ways: 式神 (or just 式), 識神 and 職神, with the first being the default option. The descriptions are even more varied, which understandably lead to the rise of numerous interpretations in modern scholarship. Carolyn Pang in her recent treatments of shikigami, which you can find in the bibliography, has recently divided them into five categories. I will follow her classification below.
Shikigami take 1: rikujin-shikisen
An example of shikiban, the divination board used in rikujin-shikisen (Museum of Kyoto, via onmarkproductions.com; reproduced here for educational purposes only)
A common view is that shikigami originate as a symbolic representation of the power of shikisen (式占) or more specifically rikujin-shikisen (六壬式占), the most common form of divination in onmyōdō. It developed from Chinese divination methods in the Nara period, and remained in the vogue all the way up to the sixteenth century, when it was replaced by ekisen (易占), a method derived from the Chinese Book of Changes.
Shikisen required a special divination board known as shikiban (式盤), which consists of a square base, the “earth panel” (地盤, jiban), and a rotating circle placed on top of it, the “heaven panel” (天盤, tenban). The former was marked with twelve points representing the signs of the zodiac and the latter with representations of the “twelve guardians of the months” (十二月将, jūni-gatsushō; their identity is not well defined). The heaven panel had to be rotated, and the diviner had to interpret what the resulting combination of symbols represents. Most commonly, it was treated as an indication whether an unusual phenomenon (怪/恠, ke) had positive or negative implications.
It’s worth pointing out that in the middle ages the shikiban also came to be used in some esoteric Buddhist rituals, chiefly these focused on Dakiniten, Shōten and Nyoirin Kannon. However, they were only performed between the late Heian and Muromachi periods, and relatively little is known about them. In most cases the divination board was most likely modified to reference the appropriate esoteric deities.
Shikigami take 2: cognitive abilities
While the view that shikigami represented shikisen is strengthened by the fact both terms share the kanji 式, a variant writing, 識神, lead to the development of another proposal. Since the basic meaning of 識 is “consciousness”, it is sometimes argued that shikigami were originally an “anthropomorphic realization of the active psychological or mental state”, as Caroline Pang put it - essentially, a representation of the will of an onmyōji. Most of the potential evidence in this case comes from Buddhist texts, such as Bosatsushotaikyō (菩薩処胎経).
However, Bernard Faure assumes that the writing 識神 was a secondary reinterpretation, basically a wordplay based on homonymy. He points out the Buddhist sources treat this writing of shikigami as a synonym of kushōjin (倶生神). This term can be literally translated as “deities born at the same time”. Most commonly it designates a pair of minor deities who, as their name indicates, come into existence when a person is born, and then records their deeds through their entire life. Once the time for Enma’s judgment after death comes, they present him with their compiled records. It has been argued that they essentially function like a personification of conscience.
Shikigami take 3: energy
A further speculative interpretation of shikigami in scholarship is that this term was understood as a type of energy present in objects or living beings which onmyōji were believed to be capable of drawing out and harnessing to their ends. This could be an adaptation of the Daoist notion of qi (氣). If this definition is correct, pieces of paper or wooden instruments used in purification ceremonies might be examples of objects utilized to channel shikigami.
The interpretation of shikigami as a form of energy is possibly reflected in Konjaku Monogatari in the tale The Tutelage of Abe no Seimei under Tadayuki. It revolves around Abe no Seimei’s visit to the house of the Buddhist monk Kuwanten from Hirosawa. Another of his guests asks Seimei if he is capable of killing a person with his powers, and if he possesses shikigami. He affirms that this is possible, but makes it clear that it is not an easy task. Since the guests keep urging him to demonstrate nonetheless, he promptly demonstrates it using a blade of grass. Once it falls on a frog, the animal is instantly crushed to death. From the same tale we learn that Seimei’s control over shikigami also let him remotely close the doors and shutters in his house while nobody was inside.
Shikigami take 4: curse
As I already mentioned, arts which can be broadly described as magic - like the already mentioned jujutsu or juhō (呪法, “magic rituals”) - were regarded as a core part of onmyōji’s repertoire from the Heian period onward. On top of that, the unlicensed onmyōji were almost exclusively associated with curses. Therefore, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that yet another theory suggests shikigami is simply a term for spells, curses or both. A possible example can be found in Konjaku Monogatari, in the tale Seimei sealing the young Archivist Minor Captains curse - the eponymous curse, which Seimei overcomes with protective rituals, is described as a shikigami.
Kunisuda Utagawa's illustration of an actor portraying Dōman in a kabuki play (wikimedia commons)
Similarities between certain descriptions of shikigami and practices such as fuko (巫蠱) and goraihō (五雷法) have been pointed out. Both of these originate in China. Fuko is the use of poisonous, venomous or otherwise negatively perceived animals to create curses, typically by putting them in jars, while goraihō is the Japanese version of Daoist spells meant to control supernatural beings, typically ghosts or foxes. It’s worth noting that a legend according to which Dōman cursed Fujiwara no Michinaga on behalf of lord Horikawa (Fujiwara no Akimitsu) involves him placing the curse - which is itself not described in detail - inside a jar.
Mitsuki Ueno notes that in the Kōchi Prefecture the phrase shiki wo utsu, “to strike with a shiki”, is still used to refer to cursing someone. However, shiki does not necessarily refer to shikigami in this context, but rather to a related but distinct concept - more on that later.
Shikigami take 5: supernatural being
While all four definitions I went through have their proponents, yet another option is by far the most common - the notion of shikigami being supernatural beings controlled by an onmyōji. This is essentially the standard understanding of the term today among general audiences. Sometimes attempts are made to identify it with a specific category of supernatural beings, like spirits (精霊, seirei), kijin or lesser deities (下級神, kakyū shin). However, none of these gained universal support. Generally speaking, there is no strong indication that shikigami were necessarily imagined as individualized beings with distinct traits.
The notion of shikigami being supernatural beings is not just a modern interpretation, though, for the sake of clarity. An early example where the term is unambiguously used this way is a tale from Ōkagami in which Seimei sends a nondescript shikigami to gather information. The entity, who is not described in detail, possesses supernatural skills, but simultaneously still needs to open doors and physically travel.
An illustration from Nakifudō Engi Emaki (wikimedia commons)
In Genpei Jōsuiki there is a reference to Seimei’s shikigami having a terrifying appearance which unnerved his wife so much he had to order the entities to hide under a bride instead of residing in his house. Carolyn Pang suggests that this reflects the demon-like depictions from works such as Abe no Seimei-kō Gazō (安倍晴明公画像; you can see it in the Heian section), Fudōriyaku Engi Emaki and Nakifudō Engi Emaki.
Shikigami and related concepts
A gohō dōji, as depicted in the Shigisan Engi Emaki (wikimedia commons)
The understanding of shikigami as a “spirit servant” of sorts can be compared with the Buddhist concept of minor protective deities, gohō dōji (護法童子; literally “dharma-protecting lads”). These in turn were just one example of the broad category of gohō (護法), which could be applied to virtually any deity with protective qualities, like the historical Buddha’s defender Vajrapāṇi or the Four Heavenly Kings.
A notable difference between shikigami and gohō is the fact that the former generally required active summoning - through chanting spells and using mudras - while the latter manifested on their own in order to protect the pious. Granted, there are exceptions. There is a well attested legend according to which Abe no Seimei’s shikigami continued to protect his residence on own accord even after he passed away. Shikigami acting on their own are also mentioned in Zoku Kojidan (続古事談). It attributes the political downfall of Minamoto no Takaakira (源高明; 914–98) to his encounter with two shikigami who were left behind after the onmyōji who originally summoned them forgot about them.
A degree of overlap between various classes of supernatural helpers is evident in texts which refer to specific Buddhist figures as shikigami. I already brought up the case of the kushōjin earlier. Another good example is the Tendai monk Kōshū’s (光宗; 1276–1350) description of Oto Gohō (乙護法). He is “a shikigami that follows us like the shadow follows the body. Day or night, he never withdraws; he is the shikigami that protects us” (translation by Bernard Faure). This description is essentially a reversal of the relatively common title “demon who constantly follow beings” (常随魔, jōzuima). It was applied to figures such as Kōjin, Shōten or Matarajin, who were constantly waiting for a chance to obstruct rebirth in a pure land if not placated properly.
The Twelve Heavenly Generals (Tokyo National Museum, via wikimedia commons)
A well attested group of gohō, the Twelve Heavenly Generals (十二神将, jūni shinshō), and especially their leader Konpira (who you might remember from my previous article), could be labeled as shikigami. However, Fujiwara no Akihira’s description of onmyōji skills evidently presents them as two distinct classes of beings.
A kuda-gitsune, as depicted in Shōzan Chomon Kishū by Miyoshi Shōzan (Waseda University History Museum; reproduced here for educational purposes only)
Granted, Akihira also makes it clear that controlling shikigami and animals are two separate skills. Meanwhile, there is evidence that in some cases animal familiars, especially kuda-gitsune used by iizuna (a term referring to shugenja associated with the cult of, nomen omen, Iizuna Gongen, though more broadly also something along the lines of “sorcerer”), were perceived as shikigami.
Beliefs pertaining to gohō dōji and shikigami seemingly merged in Izanagi-ryū, which lead to the rise of the notion of shikiōji (式王子; ōji, literally “prince”, can be another term for gohō dōji). This term refers to supernatural beings summoned by a ritual specialist (祈祷師, kitōshi) using a special formula from doctrinal texts (法文, hōmon). They can fulfill various functions, though most commonly they are invoked to protect a person, to remove supernatural sources of diseases, to counter the influence of another shikiōji or in relation to curses.
Tenkeisei, the god of shikigami
Tenkeisei (wikimedia commons)
The final matter which warrants some discussion is the unusual tradition regarding the origin of shikigami which revolves around a deity associated with this concept.
In the middle ages, a belief that there were exactly eighty four thousand shikigami developed. Their source was the god Tenkeisei (天刑星; also known as Tengyōshō). His name is the Japanese reading of Chinese Tianxingxing. It can be translated as “star of heavenly punishment”. This name fairly accurately explains his character. He was regarded as one of the so-called “baleful stars” (凶星, xiong xing) capable of controlling destiny. The “punishment” his name refers to is his treatment of disease demons (疫鬼, ekiki). However, he could punish humans too if not worshiped properly.
Today Tenkeisei is best known as one of the deities depicted in a series of paintings known as Extermination of Evil, dated to the end of the twelfth century. He has the appearance of a fairly standard multi-armed Buddhist deity. The anonymous painter added a darkly humorous touch by depicting him right as he dips one of the defeated demons in vinegar before eating him. Curiously, his adversaries are said to be Gozu Tennō and his retinue in the accompanying text. This, as you will quickly learn, is a rather unusual portrayal of the relationship between these two deities.
I’m actually not aware of any other depictions of Tenkeisei than the painting you can see above. Katja Triplett notes that onmyōdō rituals associated with him were likely surrounded by an aura of secrecy, and as a result most depictions of him were likely lost or destroyed. At the same time, it seems Tenkeisei enjoyed considerable popularity through the Kamakura period. This is not actually paradoxical when you take the historical context into account: as I outlined in my recent Amaterasu article, certain categories of knowledge were labeled as secret not to make their dissemination forbidden, but to imbue them with more meaning and value.
Numerous talismans inscribed with Tenkeisei’s name are known. Furthermore, manuals of rituals focused on him have been discovered. The best known of them, Tenkeisei-hō (天刑星法; “Tenkeisei rituals”), focuses on an abisha (阿尾捨, from Sanskrit āveśa), a ritual involving possession by the invoked deity. According to a legend was transmitted by Kibi no Makibi and Kamo no Yasunori. The historicity of this claim is doubtful, though: the legend has Kamo no Yasunori visit China, which he never did. Most likely mentioning him and Makibi was just a way to provide the text with additional legitimacy.
Other examples of similar Tenkeisei manuals include Tenkeisei Gyōhō (天刑星行法; “Methods of Tenkeisei Practice”) and Tenkeisei Gyōhō Shidai (天刑星行法次第; “Methods of Procedure for the Tenkeisei Practice”). Copies of these texts have been preserved in the Shingon temple Kōzan-ji.
The Hoki Naiden also mentions Tenkeisei. It equates him with Gozu Tennō, and explains both of these names refer to the same deity, Shōki (商貴), respectively in heaven and on earth. While Shōki is an adaptation of the famous Zhong Kui, it needs to be pointed out that here he is described not as a Tang period physician but as an ancient king of Rajgir in India. Furthermore, he is a yaksha, not a human. This fairly unique reinterpretation is also known from the historical treatise Genkō Shakusho.
Post scriptum
The goal of this article was never to define shikigami. In the light of modern scholarship, it’s basically impossible to provide a single definition in the first place. My aim was different: to illustrate that context is vital when it comes to understanding obscure historical terms. Through history, shikigami evidently meant slightly different things to different people, as reflected in literature. However, this meaning was nonetheless consistently rooted in the evolving perception of onmyōdō - and its internal changes. In other words, it reflected a world which was fundamentally alive.
The popular image of Japanese culture and religion is often that of an artificial, unchanging landscape straight from the “age of the gods”, largely invented in the nineteenth century or later to further less than noble goals. The case of shikigami proves it doesn’t need to be, though. The malleable, ever-changing image of shikigami, which remained a subject of popular speculation for centuries before reemerging in a similar role in modern times, proves that the more complex reality isn’t necessarily any less interesting to new audiences.
Bibliography
Bernard Faure, A Religion in Search of a Founder?
Idem, Rage and Ravage (Gods of Medieval Japan vol. 3)
Makoto Hayashi, The Female Christian Yin-Yang Master
Jun’ichi Koike, Onmyōdō and Folkloric Culture: Three Perspectives for the Development of Research
Irene H. Lin, Child Guardian Spirits (Gohō Dōji) in the Medieval Japanese Imaginaire
Yoshifumi Nishioka, Aspects of Shikiban-Based Mikkyō Rituals
Herman Ooms, Yin-Yang's Changing Clientele, 600-800 (note there is n apparent mistake in one of the footnotes, I'm pretty sure the author wanted to write Mesopotamian astronomy originated 4000 years ago, not 4 millenia BCE as he did; the latter date makes little sense)
Carolyn Pang, Spirit Servant: Narratives of Shikigami and Onmyōdō Developments
Idem, Uncovering Shikigami. The Search for the Spirit Servant of Onmyōdō
Shin’ichi Shigeta, Onmyōdō and the Aristocratic Culture of Everyday Life in Heian Japan
Idem, A Portrait of Abe no Seimei
Katja Triplett, Putting a Face on the Pathogen and Its Nemesis. Images of Tenkeisei and Gozutennō, Epidemic-Related Demons and Gods in Medieval Japan
Mitsuki Umeno, The Origins of the Izanagi-ryū Ritual Techniques: On the Basis of the Izanagi saimon
Katsuaki Yamashita, The Characteristics of On'yōdō and Related Texts
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「宮崎正弘の国際情勢解題」
令和六年(2024)2月5日(月曜日)
通巻第8118号
孫子を読まずして政治を語る勿れ。派閥解体、政治資金浄化????
吉田松陰の代表作は、じつは孫子の研究書(『孫子評註』)だった
*************************
自民党の派閥解消を聞いて、日本の政治家は政治の本質を理解していないことに唖然となった。派閥はまつりごとのダイナミズムを形成する。パワーの源泉である。それを自ら解体するのだから、政治は星雲状態となる。となると欣喜雀躍するのは中国である。国内政治にあっては、その「代理人」たちである。
孫子が言っているではないか。「謀を伐ち、交を伐つ」(=敵の戦略を見抜き、敵戦力を内訌させ、可能なら敵の一部を取り込め、それが戦争の上策である)。そうすれば、闘わずして勝てる、と。
高杉晋作も久坂玄瑞も、松下村塾で吉田松陰の孫子の講議を受けた。松陰亡き後の門下生だった乃木希典は、師の残した『孫子評註』の私家版を自費出版し、脚注もつけて明治天皇に内奏したほど、心酔していた。世にいう松陰の代表作はその辞世とともに有名な『講孟余話』と『留魂録』だが、現代人はすっぽりと『孫子評註』を忘れた。これは江戸時代の孫子研究の集大成である(『吉田松陰全集』第五巻に収録)。
松陰は山鹿素行を師と仰ぐ兵法家から出発している。毛利長州藩の軍事顧問だったのである。
もとより江戸の学問は官学が朱子学とは言え、新井白石も山鹿素行も荻生徂徠も山崎闇斎も、幕末の佐久間象山も西郷隆盛も孫子は読んだ。しかし江戸時代の二百数十年、太平の眠りにあったため、武士には、読んでもその合理的で非情な戦法に馴染めなかった。
その謀(はかりごと)優先という戦闘方式は、日本人の美意識とあまりに乖離が大きく、多くの日本人は楠正成の忠誠、赤穂浪士らの忠義に感動しても、孫子を座右の書とはしなかった。
明治以後、西洋の学問として地政学が日本に這入り込み、クラウゼウィッツは森鴎外が翻訳した。戦後をふくめてマキャベリ、マハンが愛読され、しかし誤読された。吉田松陰の兵法書はいつしか古書店からも消えた。
しかし戦前の指導者にとっては必読文献だった。
吉田松陰が基本テキストとしたのは魏の曹操が編纂した『魏武註孫子』で、考証学の大家といわれた清の孫星衍編集の平津館叢書版を用いた。そのうえで兵学の師、山鹿素行の『孫子諺義』を参考にしている。
もともと孫子は木簡、竹簡に書かれて、原文は散逸し、多くの逸文があるが、魏の曹操がまとめたものが現代までテキストとなってきた。
▼孫子だって倫理を説いているのだが。。。
孫子はモラルを軽視、無視した謀略の指南書かと言えば、そうではない。『天』と『道』を説き、『地』『将』『法』を説く。
孫子には道徳倫理と権謀術策との絶妙な力学関係で成り立っているのである。
戦争にあたり天候、とくに陰陽、寒暖差、時期が重要とするのが『天』である。『地』は遠交近攻の基本、地形の剣呑、道は平坦か崖道か、広いか狭いかという地理的条件の考察である。戦場の選択、相手の軍事拠点の位置、その地勢的な特徴などである。
『将』はいうまでもなく将軍の器量、資質、素養、リーダーシップである。『法』とは軍の編成と将官の職能、そして管理、管轄、運営のノウハウである。『道』はモラル、倫理のことだが、孫子は具体的に「道」を論じなかった。
日本の兵学者は、この「道」に重点を置いた。このポイントが孫子と日本の兵学書との顕著な相違点である。
「兵は詭道なり」と孫子は書いた。
従来の通説は卑怯でも構わないから奇襲、欺し、脅し、攪乱、陽動作戦などで敵を欺き、欺して闘う(不正な)行為だと強調されてきた。ところが、江戸の知性と言われた荻生徂徠は「敵の理解を超える奇抜さ、法則には則らない千変万化の戦い方だ」と解釈した。
吉田松陰は正しき道にこだわり、倫理を重んじたために最終的には武士として正しい遣り方をなすべきとしてはいるが、それでいて「敵に勝って強を増す」とうい孫子の遣り方を兵法の奥義と評価しているのである。
つまり「兵隊の食糧、敵の兵器を奪い、そのうえで敵戦力の兵士を用いれば敵の総合力を減殺させるばかりか、疲弊させ、味方は強さを増せる」。ゆえに最高の戦闘方法だとし、これなら持久戦にも耐えうる、とした。
江戸幕府を倒した戊辰戦争では、まさにそういう展開だった。
「孫子曰く。凡そ兵を用いるの法は、国を全うするを上と為し、国を破るは之れに次ぐ。軍を全うするを上と為し、軍を破るは之れに次ぐ。旅を全うすると上と為し、旅を破るは之れに次ぐ。卒を全うするを上と為し、卒を破るは之に次ぐ。伍を全うするを上と為し、伍を破るは之れに次ぐ」
つまり謀を以て敵を破るのが上策、軍自作戦での価値は中策、直接の軍事戦闘は下策だと言っている。
▼台湾統一を上策、中策、下策のシミュレーションで考えてみる
孫子の末裔たちの国を支配する中国共産党の台湾統一戦略を、上策、中策、下策で推測してみよう。
上策とは武力行使をしないで、台湾を降伏させることであり、なにしろTSMCをそのまま飲みこむのだと豪語しているのだから、威圧、心理的圧力を用いる。
議会は親中派の国民党が多数派となって議長は統一論を説く韓国瑜となった。
宣伝と情報戦で、その手段がSNSに溢れるフェイク情報、また台湾のメディアを駆使した情報操作である。この作戦で台湾には中国共産党の代理人がごろごろ、中国の情報工作員が掃いて捨てるほどうようよしている。軍の中にも中国のスパイが這入り込んで機密を北京へ流している。
軍事占領されるくらいなら降伏しようという政治家はいないが、話し合いによる「平和統一」がよいとする意見が台湾の世論で目立つ。危険な兆候だろう。平和的統一の次に何が起きたか? 南モンゴル、ウイグル、チベットの悲劇をみよ。
中策は武力的威嚇から局地的な武力行使である。
台湾政治を揺さぶり、気がつけば統一派が多いという状態を固定化し、軍を進めても抵抗が少なく、意外と容易に台湾をのみ込める作戦で、その示威行動が台湾海峡への軍艦覇権や海上封鎖の演習、領空の偵察活動などで台湾人の心理を麻痺させること。また台湾産農作物を輸入禁止したりする経済戦争も手段として駆使している。すでに金門では廈門と橋をかけるプロジェクトが本格化して居る。
下策が実際の戦争であり、この場合、アメリカのハイテク武器供与が拡大するるだろうし、国際世論は中国批判。つまりロシアの孤立化のような状況となり、また台湾軍は練度が高く、一方で人民解放軍は士気が低いから、中国は苦戦し、長期戦となる。
中国へのサプライチェーンは、台湾も同様だが、寸断され、また兵站が脆弱であり、じつは長期戦となると、中国軍に勝ち目はない。だからこそ習近平は強がりばかりを放言し、実際には何もしない。軍に進撃を命じたら、司令官が「クーデターのチャンス」とばかり牙をむくかも知れないという不安がある。
下策であること、多大な犠牲を懼れずに戦争に打って出ると孫子を学んだはずの指導者が決断するだろうか?
▼孫子がもっとも重要視したのはスパイの活用だった
『孫子』は以下に陣形、地勢、用兵、戦闘方法などをこまかく述べ、最終章が「用間(スパイ編)」である。敵を知らず己を知らざれば百戦すべて危うし」と孫子は言った。スパイには五種あるとして孫子は言う。
『故に間を用うるに五有り。因間有り。内間有り。反間有り。死間有り。生間有り。五間倶に起こりて、其の道を知ること莫し、是を神紀と謂う。人君の宝なり』
「因間」は敵の民間人を使う。「内間」は敵の官吏。「反間」は二重スパイ。「死間」は本物に見せかけた偽情報で敵を欺し、そのためには死をいとわない「生間」は敵地に潜伏し、その���民になりすまし「草」となって大事な情報をもたらす。
いまの日本の政財官界に中国のスパイがうようよ居る。直截に中国礼賛する手合いは減ったが、間接的に中国の利益に繋がる言動を展開する財界人、言論人、とくに大手メディアの『中国代理人』は逐一、名前をあげる必要もないだろう。
アメリカは孔子学院を閉鎖し『千人計画』に拘わってきたアメリカ人と中国の工作員を割り出した。さらに技術を盗む産業スパイの取り締まりを強化した。スパイ防止法がない「普通の国」でもない日本には何も為す術がない。
(十年前の拙著『悪の孫子学』<ビジネス社>です ↓)
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