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

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 vibran...

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...