Abe no Nakamaro

Here is the third in this year's series, a portrait of an ambassador to the Chinese court in the 8th Century. Nakamaro's poem, written in China, describes his feelings upon looking at the moon there and comparing it to the moon rising over hills in his home in Japan. The mood is one of homesickness, and he is obviously wondering if he will ever return to his native land.

This poem, one of the most famous in the whole set, has special relevance for me. I too, am living in a land far removed from my place of origin. I too, as does every man living in a far-off land, look up at the moon and wonder if those left behind are also turning their gaze to the same sky. I must confess though, that I do not do so with a strong sense of homesickness. In my 38 years of life so far, I have lived in 8 cities in three countries, and have had 18 addresses. I left the place of my birth in England when I was but a few months old. For which one of these places should I feel homesick? When another year has gone by, I will have been living here in Hamura for five years, longer than any other place in which I have ever stayed. When people ask me, 'When will you be going home?', I am tempted to reply, 'Do you mean, my next home?'

For me obviously, home is wherever I live at the moment. Rather than spending my time wondering about the life 'left behind', I prefer to focus on the present and future. The print you receive this month has been carved and printed here in Hamura. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, it will arrive on your doorstep from a log house in the Canadian countryside, or from a village in Switzerland, or maybe from a sunny hillside in Izu, all of which are places in which I would like to live. My family and I are still young, and we have many places yet to see.

And Nakamaro? I am told that he was shipwrecked during an attempt to sail back to Japan, and was forced to return to China, where he passed the rest of his days. I hope that he didn't spend all his time on astronomy.

I hope you enjoy the print this month. Coming up next, this year's monk - Egyo Hoshi.