Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 7
ama no harafurisakemirebaKasuga naruMikasa no yama niideshi tsuki ka mo

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When I gaze into the distanceacross the plain of heaven,I see the same moonthat came out from behindMt Mikasa in Kasuga!
Abe no Nakamaro (698-770)

[Wakakusayama seen from Nara Park]

An expression of longing for the poet's native land.

Mt Mikasa is presently called Wakakusayama, it is the hill that looms above Todaiji and the Kasuga Shrine in Nara. It is part of Nara Park. The 342 m. high hill is covered with turf and is known for the turf burning conducted every year on January 15. "In Kasuga" refers to the general area of the Kasuga Shrine. Just as Mt Mikasa / Wakakusayama now dominates central Nara, so it was in the Nara period, when the present poet saw it as a symbol of his hometown and country.   [Abe no Nakamaro at his farewell party in China
by Hokusai]

Abe no Nakamaro (698-770) was in 717 sent to study in China, with a Japanese embassy to the Tang court that also included Kibi no Makibi and the priest Genbo. He remained in the Chinese capital Changan where he took a Chinese name and accepted an official post, becoming a severe case of "going native" (although it must be admitted that there were only very few chances to return). He also established a literary reputation in Chinese and is said to have befriended such major Chinese poets as Li Bai and Wang Wei. In 753 he attempted to return to Japan with the embassy...