Meet the Poets of Hyakunin Isshu
Ono no Takamura

Meaning

I have set out rowing across the vast sea, heading for the many islands far away. Tell the people back home.

Commentary

Ono no Takamura was deputy envoy to Tang China. He defied his superior's orders, refused to board the mission's ship, and composed a Chinese poem critical of the embassy — earning the wrath of retired Emperor Saga, who had him exiled to the island of Oki.

This poem was composed just before his exile. It is thought to carry the anguish of being forced to leave the capital, and the feelings he harboured for those he was leaving behind.

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