Sangi Takamura

As I have become familiar enough with these Japanese terms to have learned that a word like 'Sangi' is a title rather than a name, I had a look in one of my books to see what his real name was. I was a bit surprised to find that it was 'Ono no Takamura', and realizing that the famous Ono no Komachi precedes him by just a few positions in the traditional Hyaku-nin Isshu order (she is number 9, he is 11), I thought that she may perhaps have been his mother. I was wrong. The textbook tells me that she was his adopted daughter ...

His poem alludes to an episode in his life during which he was exiled to islands in the Inland Sea. Perhaps word was carried to his friends back in Kyoto, because it seems that after some time, he was pardoned and reinstated in his former position.

I made this print this month under quite unusual conditions. As long-time collectors of my prints know, my Augusts were always spent with my family down at the old farm where my kids' grandfather grew up. That pattern came to an end with my divorce a couple of years ago though, and I have since become resigned to staying here in Tokyo every summer. But this year, my two daughters are not here with me. They are spending their summer vacation from school visiting their mother's home in Canada, and for the first time in about fifteen years, I am alone again.

As you can expect I'm sure, it certainly feels a bit strange to be in this situation. The house feels very quiet indeed, and I've found myself even starting to talk to my cat! But it is very good for the work. With no 'distractions' around, I spend much more time at the workbenches, and this print was finished in under two weeks, just half the usual time. If my kids moved away permanently, I'd be able to finish this Hyaku-nin Isshu project a couple of years early! But I'm not interested in doing that. I'm quite content to chug away at my pace of 10 prints per year. When you enjoy your work, there's no pleasure in trying to finish early, is there? And anyway, Himi and Fumi will be back here soon, in time to start school again at the beginning of September, and our noisy, active life will start again.

I suppose though, that as they get a bit older and enter middle school, the amount of time I spend alone will steadily increase. Perhaps it's time to start thinking about what kind of life I want to make for myself in the future. In just a few more years now, this long long project will be drawing to a close, and my girls will also be flying away ... I will be losing nearly all the things that are important in my life these days ...

But no, it's too soon to think of such things. There are indeed many things I would like to be involved in, but if I start to develop such interests now, it will be difficult for me to focus on the remaining printmaking work properly. I'll try and let the future take care of itself. I'll try ...

August 1995

Translation: Tom Galt - 1982