Background
Abe Nakamaro was born in 701. He was a descendant of Prince Hikofutsuoshi Makoto, the son of Emperor Kōgen and first son of Abe no Funamori.
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Abe Nakamaro
Edit ProfileEducation
At the age of 15, he was chosen by the Imperial Court to study in China, then under the Tang Dynasty. Arriving in China in 716, he became acquainted with Wang Ying and Li Po, great scholar and poet, respectively, in that country.
Career
He served Emperor Hsuantsung under the name of Chao-heng as Secretary and Guardian of the Imperial Palace. On his way back to Japan with Ambassador Kiyokawa Fujiwara, his ship met a violent storm and was drifted to Anrmm. Nakamaro went back to China from Annam and died there homesick in 770. A poem of his which was composed in China, which reminisces his younger days in the Japanese Court, is among the "One Hundred Poems By One Hundred Poets", an anthology which is well-known among the Japanese masses to this day.From his literary work he is most famous for a poem filled with intense longing for his home in Nara.
