Abe no Nakamaro, from the series A True Mirror of Chinese and Japanese Poems

About this artwork

This poet is also the seventh in the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets. The artist presents here the more mature Nakamaro seated on the terrace of a Chinese palace with a group of friends. He remained in China more than thirty years, never returning to his home near Nara. The poem implied here is the same as that in the other print, now directed to the moon itself. In spite of a successful career in China, he never became reconciled to his exile.

Art Historical Context

Katsushika Hokus (1760–1849), one of Japan's most celebrated ukiyo-e masters, created *Abe no Nakamaro* around 1833 as part of series *A True Mirror Chinese and Japanese Poems*. color woodblock print in the nagaban format—a tall, narrow vertical composition measuring 51.3 × 22.3 cm—captures a poignant moment inspired by the 8th-century poet Abe no Nakamaro. Exiled in China, Nakamaro gazes at the moon, evoking homesickness in his famous verse longing for Japan. Hokusai's genius shines in the meticulous woodblock technique, where artists designed images passed to carvers and printers for vibrant, layered colors using water-based pigments. The nagaban format, popular for poetry illustrations, emphasizes dramatic verticality, drawing viewers into Nakamaro's introspective solitude amid swirling clouds and lunar glow. Produced during Japan's Edo period, these affordable prints democratized art, blending literati culture with mass appeal. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia collection, this work exemplifies Hokusai's versatility beyond iconic landscapes like *The Great Wave*. It bridges Chinese and Japanese poetic traditions, highlighting cultural exchange and the enduring power of visual storytelling to evoke universal emotions like wanderlust and nostalgia.

About the Artist

Katsushika Hokusai · 1760–1849

Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) stands as one of history's most influential artists, a Japanese master who revolutionized the ukiyo-e woodblock print tradition and profoundly shaped Western art. Born in the Katsushika district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to an artisan family, Hokusai lived through nearly nine decades of extraordinary creative evolution, adopting over thirty different artistic names t...