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Katsushika Hokusai

Abe no Nakamaro [701-770] (Abe no Nakamaro), ca. 1835-1836

Description

Maker

Title

Abe no Nakamaro [701-770] (Abe no Nakamaro)

Year

ca. 1835-1836

Medium

Polychrome woodblock print

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Techniques

Supports

Dimensions

Image: 24.9 x 37.5 cm (9 13/16 x 14 3/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription verso, bottom center: EGR102; in a later hand verso, near right margin towards top end:20.1007[text and poems]Poem: Ama no hara (translates to) When I lift my head furisake mireba (translates toand gaze at the firmament, kasuga naru (translates to) the moon is the same kikasa no yama ni (translates to) that rose over Mikasa, ideshi tsuki kamo (translates to) the mountain in Kasuga.(trans. Keene, Seeds in the heart, p. 702)Mostow (see refs.) provides another translation: As I gaze out, far/across the plain of heaven,/ah, at Kasuga,/from behind Mount Mikasa,/it's the same moon that came out then!

Identification

Edition

Edition: early edition with red publisher's seal; faded

Place

Japan

Type

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

20.1228

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Poets, Heroes, and Courtiers

September 6 - December 1, 2002

Abe no Nakamaro (698/701-779) went to China to study in 717 and remained there permanently. Legend has it that his ship was blown off course and he was unable to return to Japan. Given the infrequent contact between the two countries in that period, this outcome is not surprising.

The poem inscribed next to the title cartouche in the upper right corner of the print is the famous set of verses recorded in the thirteenth-century anthology, Hyakunin isshu. In it, the poet apparently expresses his longing for his native country:

When I look abroad
O’er the wide-stretched “Plain of Heaven,”
Is the moon the same
That on Mount Mikasa rose,
In the land of Kasuga?

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Abe no Nakamaro [701-770] (Abe no Nakamaro) with the accession number of 20.1228. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.