also: おんようけ · おんみょうけ
noun
diviner; sorcerer; exorcist; medium
A practitioner of 陰陽道 (Onmyōdō), the traditional Japanese esoteric cosmology based on Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. Historically, such figures performed divination, exorcism, and other spiritual services.
See also: 陰陽道
平安時代には、陰陽家が宮中で重要な役割を果たしていた。
In the Heian period, diviners played an important role at the imperial court.
noun
School of Yin-yang; School of Naturalists
Refers to the ancient Chinese philosophical school that explained the world through the interactions of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. This is a historical term for the school of thought, not a practitioner.
陰陽家は、中国の諸子百家の一つに数えられる。
The School of Yin-yang is counted among the Hundred Schools of Thought in ancient China.
陰陽道 is the Japanese system of divination and cosmology, while 陰陽家 refers to the practitioner (sense 1) or the Chinese philosophical school (sense 2).
陰陽師 is a more common term for a practitioner of Onmyōdō, often used in popular culture. 陰陽家 is a more formal or historical term for the same role.
From Chinese 陰陽家 (Yīnyángjiā), literally 'Yin-yang school/practitioner'. The term was adopted into Japanese with multiple readings reflecting different historical periods and influences.