Image Above (a haiga) is by Nakamura Sakuo, used with permission.
寝返りをするぞそこのけきりぎりす
negaeri wo suru zo soko noke kirigirisu
turning over in bed---
move aside!
katydid
--translation by David G. Lanoue
Kobayashi Issa (小林一茶)
(June 15, 1763 - January 5, 1828)
His pen name "Issa" means "A cup of tea"
A Japanese poet, and Buddhist priest, known for his haiku poems and his journals. He is regarded as one of the four haiku masters in Japan, along with Bashō, Buson and Shiki.
Other Haiku (hokku) by Issa:
ぶらり来て 親子の如し 雪の宿
burari kite oyako no gotoshi yuki no yado
I just came by
and was treated like family -
a home in the snow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
asleep on my back
midsummer clouds
over my knees
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
橙の花にひかれて母の海
daidai no
hana ni hikarete
haha no umi
bitter orange flower,
this is the sea where my mother
was born
[The last 3 haiku are from the World Kigo Database, used with permission]
