Image

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

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

Description

Maker

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849, b. in Edo, Japan)
Nishimuraya Yohachi 西村屋与八 (1759-1869

Title

Abe no Nakamaro [701-770] (Abe no Nakamaro)
The hundred poems explained by the nurse
Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki

Period

Edo Period

Year

ca. 1835-1836

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink and color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan

Dimensions

Horizontal ōban: 25.4 x 37.5 cm (10 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!

Signature: Zen Hokusai manji | in red

Seals: Publisher's seal | Eijudo;censor's seal | kiwame; collector's seal | Hayashi

Identification

Edition

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

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

20.1228

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Mountains and Rivers
Scenic Views of Japan
Jul 10, 2009 – Nov 01, 2009
Poets, Heroes, and Courtiers
Literary and Narrative Traditions in Japanese Prints
Sep 06, 2002 – Dec 01, 2002

Label copy

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?

The Art of Hokusai
Mar 15, 1996 – Jun 09, 1996

Use & Feedback

Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849, b. in Edo, Japan)
Nishimuraya Yohachi 西村屋与八 (1759-1869
Edo, Japan), publisher
Abe no Nakamaro [701-770] (Abe no Nakamaro); The hundred poems explained by the nurse; Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki, ca. 1835-1836
Polychrome woodblock print
Horizontal ōban: 25.4 x 37.5 cm (10 x 14 3/4 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke 20.1228

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