1,300-Year-Old Moon Poem: Nara's Eternal Longing
About the Poet
Abe no Nakamaro (701-770) was a brilliant scholar-diplomat whose life reads like an ancient odyssey. Selected as a young prodigy for a prestigious embassy to Tang China in 717, he so impressed the Chinese court that he was appointed to high governmental positions and given the Chinese name Chao Heng. Despite his success, Nakamaro yearned for Japan. After thirty years abroad, he finally received permission to return home in 753. At a farewell banquet in the Chinese port of Mingzhou, gazing at the moon, he composed this immortal poem expressing his profound homesickness. Tragically, his ship was wrecked by storms, and he was blown to Vietnam. Though he eventually returned to China, Nakamaro never saw Japan again, dying in Chang'an at age 70. His tomb remains in Xi'an, China. This poem, preserved in both the Man'yoshu and Hyakunin Isshu, represents one of the most poignant expressions of exile and longing in Japanese literature, connecting the universal moon to his memories of Nara's sacred Kasuga shrine.
Seto Inland Sea, Hiroshima
The Seto Inland Sea, Japan's Mediterranean, stretches between Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, offering travelers a mesmerizing seascape of over 3,000 islands. From Hiroshima, ferries glide past pine-covered islets to destinations like Miyajima with its floating torii gate. Summer transforms the sea into a shimmering canvas of blues and greens, perfect for island-hopping adventures. Visit the art islands of Naoshima and Teshima, cycle the Shimanami Kaido bridge route, or savor fresh seafood in fishing villages. The sea's calm waters create magical moonlit nights, echoing the celestial contemplation in Nakamaro's verse. Evening cruises offer spectacular sunset views, while the region's mild climate makes summer evenings particularly enchanting for moon-viewing.
Understanding the Poem
This poem captures the profound ache of exile through the universal symbol of the moon. Nakamaro, stranded in China for over three decades, looks up at the night sky and asks whether this moon is the same one that rises over Mount Mikasa near Kasuga Shrine in his hometown of Nara. The rhetorical question 'kamo' expresses bittersweet wonder and longing. The 'plain of heaven' (ama no hara) elevates the mundane act of looking up into a spiritual communion across vast distances. For ancient Japanese, the moon represented constancy amid change—the one celestial body connecting separated loved ones. The specific mention of Kasuga, Nara's most sacred Shinto shrine, adds religious and cultural depth, suggesting not just homesickness but spiritual displacement. This masterpiece demonstrates how classical Japanese poetry distills overwhelming emotion into delicate, image-based expression.
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