rice cake

by Issa 1810

David's comment
The rice cake is covered with bean jam. Shinji Ogawa notes that taisetsu no botamochi means "important rice cake...placed on the shelf as an offering to Buddha or Shinto gods." A katydid (kirigirisu) is a green or light brown insect, a cousin of crickets and grasshoppers. The males possess special organs on the wings with which they produce shrill calls. Although katydid is the closest English equivalent, many translators (such as R. H. Blyth) use the more familiar "grasshopper" and "cricket." See Haiku (Tokyo: Hokuseido, 1949-1952; rpt. 1981-1982/reset paperback edition) 4.1068-69.

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