water mill

sakuo sketched at R-Lauer Slaughter in England.


sakuo pictured at a park in Tokyo.

David's English
mountain village--
pure water
husks the rice

yama-zato wa kome wo tsukasuru shimizu kana
一茶
.山里は米をつかする清水かな

by Issa, 1823
A mountain stream powers a rice-pounding mill.

sakuo renku
古今東西水車変らず
kokon touzai suisya kawarazu

All ages and countries
water mill doesn’t change

cleaning wells

by Issa, 1822

David comment
Issa refers to the summer custom of draining and cleaning wells. In this haiku, the well has been drained, so there's no water to reflect the moon. Shinji Ogawa explains that suppari kawaku means "being dried completely."

sakuo renku
ご苦労さんと　ぼた餅が出る
gokurou san to botamoti ga deru

thanks so much
here is sweet rice cake

melancholy rape flowers

Other haiku in 1816 on rape flower

little rape flowers
what devil
plucked so many?

in the middle
of flowering rape
Mount Asama's smoke

sakuo renku

going over Mt, Asama
spring dusk

Mount Asama

by Issa, 1816

David’s　comment
Mount Asama is a volcano in Issa's home province of Shinano, active during the poet's lifetime. The eruption of 1783, when Issa was twenty-one years old and living in Edo (today's Tokyo), killed 1,151 people.

sakuo renku
優しけれども悲劇忘れず
yasasi keredo mo higeki wasurezu

even it’s tender but
couldn’t forget tragedy

moon watcher

David English
a sight to see!
from a hole in the wall
autumn moon

名所や壁の穴より秋の月 　　　　一茶
nadokoro ya kabe no ana yori aki no tsuki

by Issa, 1825

sakuo renku
月見の客や夢に現る
tukimi no kyaku ya ume ni arawaru

moon watchers
appearing in my dream

Santoka in Amarfi

sakuo renku
我見たき春アマルフィの春
ware mitaki haru amarufi no haru

I wish to see spring
the spring of Amarfi

Priest Daushin, Issa

Background
1823, Age 61
On Fifth Month, his wife, Kiku, dies. His third son was at 14 months
He was took care by not Issa’s home but other’s home.
How Issa was in anxiety about him.
[winter rain]that is Kigo falls in early winter.


Reasoning.
Who is priest Daushin?
Daushin-bou means priest who became Budha’s student on his half way of whole life.
I think Daushin-bou is Issa himself, because till the time he lost three children and wife. For the sake of praying for the souls of the dead, he made temple named Haikai-Ji
Where was he going?
He was going in a hurry to his son who was under care of the other’s.

sakuo renku.
旅の不在を許せ吾が子よ
tabi no fuzai wo yuruse wagako yo

forgive me my son
my absent of travel

Corrcting the former posting, Yuki is not peony

This ku
was made in 1824, at the time Issa was 62 years old.
He married on Fifth month and on Eight month divorced.
Only three months he lived with Yuki, new bride.
Peony is summer Kigo.
At the summer Issa had no interest in Yuki,expecting divorce.
So Yuki was not his lovely peony.

I change my picture and renku too.

sakuo renku
家と違って花は綺麗だ
uti to tigatssute Hana ha kirei da

different from my home
the flower is beautiful

let's sing and dance!!

David’s English
my oh my
what a radiant face...
peony

temo satemo temo fukuso^ no botan kana
一茶.
てもさてもても福相のぼたん哉

1823 age 62,
Fifth Month marries with Kuki and Eighth month divoce.
After the first wife die, he had been longing to marry.
Peony is summer’s Kigo.
I presume the peony in this ku would be Kuki.

sakuo renku
歌え踊れや独り身さらば
utae odore ya hitorimi saraba

let’s sing and dance!
good-by single life

old staple theme

David’s English
beach plovers
raise a ruckus...
the dog runs away

ura chidori naki taterarete inu nigeru
一茶
.浦千鳥鳴立られて犬逃る

by Issa, 1825

sakuo renku

http://www005.upp.so-net.ne.jp/kaikuu/uttidori.html

From old time, there are many poets who made poems on plovers.
Issa would feel to be chased by those poets like as the dog

定番の季題に参る一茶かな
teiban no kidai ni mairu Issa kana

Issa overwhelmed
by old staple theme

prefer peach to plum on the face

David’s English
on the homecoming servant's
face too...
peach blossoms

一茶
.やぶ入の顔にもつけよ桃の花
yabuiri no kao ni mo tsuke yo momo no hana

by Issa 1808, Age 44 years old,
David sensei said that In an earlier version of this haiku, dated 1808, Issa ends with ume no hana ("plum blossoms").

I wish , if possible, to ask Issa “why did you change plum blossom to peach blossom?

Issa often visit Nagareyama where he had a great sponsor who reserved a room for Issa with room maid named Oume , Plum blossom.
Book writer, Akira Itoho often said Oume was Issa’s lover.

Issa would like prefer peach to plum on servant’s face.

sakuo renku
梅より桃が小僧に似合う
ume　yori　momo ga kozouni niau

for the cheek of boys
better peach than plum

my haiku journey

David’s English
moon in the autumn dawn--
nearing month's end
lantern in the eaves

ariake ya misoka ni chikaki noki andon
一茶.
有明や晦日に近き軒行灯

by Issa, 1827
Age 65
Sixth Month, 1st day, a fire sweeps through Kashiwabara village, destroying Issa's house. Ninth Month, he moves into a grain barn on his property that survived the fire. Eleventh Month, 19th day, he dies of a stroke. Equivalent Western date: January 5, 1828.
one dies out
two die out
lanterns for the dead

sakuo renku
俳句の旅路終わり近づく
haiku no tabiji owari tikaduku

my haiku journey
nearing at the end