The fox spirit is revealed in its shadow—Japanese folk wisdom.

Folklorist Andre Minamoto has returned to Japan to gather data for his doctoral thesis. Most of what he comes across has already been studied. He needs a breakthrough. He needs something new and wonderful. When he discovers a man who claims to be the legendary yin-yang wizard, Abe no Seimei, he is skeptical. After all, a man born in the year 920 has to have been dead and turned to dust by now. Little does he know that he is about to enter an uncharted world where what we think is fantasy is only too real.

Andre is forced to open his mind to the existence of devils, demons, ghosts, and monsters that defy description. He also finds himself opening his heart to the greatest of wizards who has ever lived—Abe no Seimei.

Seimei, the son of a magical one-thousand-year-old fox and a human, lived during the rich Heian period, when the Imperial family still held its power with the help of mighty magicians. Andre takes notes madly as Seimei regales him with tales of his exploits. Andre hears them with new ears as he finally begins to absorb the insane notion that they aren’t just tales, but true stories. As he melts in Seimei’s hot embrace, he wonders still how to learn of his powers of immortality.