fortune at last

Masajo 真砂女 1994 age 88

運やつと向いて来し桃咲きにけり
un yatto muite kishi momo saki ni keri

Lee & Emiko's English

fortune at last
comes my way—
beach trees blooming

Seasonal word:peach tree ( spring )

sakuo haiga

fukagawa

Issa 一茶　1817　age 52.

深川や舟も一組とし忘
fukagawa ya fune mo hito-gumi toshiwasure

David's English

Fukagawa-- 
on a boat, too, a party 
drinks away the year

This haiku refers to an end-of-year drinking party. Fukagawa is a neighborhood in Edo (today's Tokyo) on Sumida River's east bank. The great haiku poet Basho^ lived there in his Basho^-an ("Banana-leaf hermitage").
http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo haiga

spring sorrow

Masajo　真砂女　1906　age 88

春愁を抱くほど花を買いにけり
shunshu^ wo daku hodo hana wo kai ni keri

Lee & Emiko’s English

spring sorrow—
I buy enough flowers
to embrace it

Seasonal: spring sorrow (spring)

sakuo haiga

little straw mat

Issa　一茶　 1819, Age 57

さむしろや一文橋も霧の立
samushiro ya ichi mon hashi mo kiri no tatsu

David’s English

little straw mat--
even on a one-penny bridge
mist rises

Who is sitting on the little straw mat? I picture the toll collector.
http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo haiga

In my case a beggar is sitting on the mat beside bridge on which
toll collector is keeping the bridge from outlaw.

secrets come

Masajo　真砂女　1906 age 88

隠しごと親子にもあり桜餅
kakusigoto oyako nimo ari asakuramoti

Lee & Emiko’s English

secrets come between
even mothers and daughters—
cherry blossom cakes

Seasonal word: cherry blossom cake ( spring)
Note: Cherry blossom cake is a cake wrapped in a salted cherry leaf; it is
a specialty of the spring season. It is usually pale pink like cherry
blossoms and its cherry leaf flavor is favored by many peoples.

sakuo haiga

a previous life's bond

Issa　一茶　１８２５　age 63
On last year he divorced, he suffers a stroke ,lost his power of speech for a while.

過去のやくそくかよ袖に寝小てふ
kako no yakusoku ka yo sode ni neru ko cho^

David’s　English
a previous life's bond?
little butterfly
on my sleeve, asleep

http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo haiga

fruit of labor

Masajo　真砂女　1994　age 88

働いて作りし花見衣かな
hataraite tsukurishi hanamigoromo kana

Lee and Emiko’s English
fruit of my labor:
this cherry blossom viewing
kimono

Seasonal word: cherry blossom viewing (spring)
Note: Usually the husband buys kimono for his wife, but Masajo
earned her kimono for cherry blossom viewing by working in her pub.
Cherry blossom viewing kimonos are usually very fancy and expensive,
and can cost one million yen( about $10,000) or more. Masajo shows her pride.

sakuo haiga

grassy meadow

Issa　一茶　1825年　aged 63

After he divorced,
he was stricken with paralysis.
He rode on palanquin, visiting his students.

草原や提灯行に虫すだく
kusabara ya cho^chin yuku ni mushi sudaku

David’s English

grassy meadow--
insects crowd 'round
the paper lantern
http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo haiga

hazy spring night

Masajyo　真砂女　1996、age　88

おぼろ夜や女も咥え煙草して
oboroyo ya on’na mo kuwae tabako site

Lee &Emuko’s English

hazy spring night—
a woman too with a cigarette
between her teeth

Seasonal word* hazy spring night (spring)

sakuo haiga

devoted child

Issa 一茶　1819

ぎりのある子を呼ばるかよ夕雀

giri no aru ko wo yobaru ka yo yu^ suzume

 

David’s English

are you calling
for your devoted child?
evening sparrow

. by Issa, 1819

 

sakuo haiga

[ぎりのある子 giri no aru ko] means step child.

Issa’s mother who was a step mother. She was calling him.

How did it sound? It depends on your sensibility.

fall quickly

Issa　一茶　1816年

 

古郷をとく降かくせ霧時雨　

furusato wo toku furikakuse kiri shigure

 

David’s English

fall quickly, hide
my home village...
mist and cold rain

 

sakuo haiga

At this time Issa was staying in Edo.