Masajo真砂女 1969 age 63
冬の夜の海眠らねば眠られず
fuyu no yo no umi nemura neba nemura rezu
Lee & Emiko’s English
a night in winter---
unless the sea can slumber
I too am sleepless
As the night deepens the surf sound gets into my ears and I can not fall asleep.
People do sleep at night, but the sea does not. I will stay awake with the sea;
the sea is alive.
Issa, 1795 age 33
the servants
all are new...
Little New Year's
meshi tsukai atarashiki kana ko sho^gatsu
召仕新しき哉小正月
Little New Year's is celebrated on the 15th and 16th days of First Month. Meshi tsukau is an old expression for a nobleman sending for a person to come and render a service; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 1612. Shinji Ogawa notes that in Issa's time, this phrase could signify any one of a wide range of employees, from samurai to maids.
http://cat.xula.edu/issa/ by David Lanoue.
Masajo 真砂女 1969 age 63
風立つとかなしびあへり雪の樹々
kaze tatsu to kanashibi aeri yuki no kigi
Lee & Emiko’s English
when the wind blows
they share their sorrow---
trees covered with snow
sakuo haiga
Issa 一茶 1815 Age 53
けぶたくも庵を放れな鳴千鳥
kebutaku mo io wo hanare na naku chidori
David’s English
though it's smoky
don't leave my hut!
singing plover
.
Kebutai or kebutashi is an old word meaning to suffocate on smoke; Kogo dai jiten (Shogakukan 1983) 570. http://cat.xula.edu/issa/
Sakuo note;
Who is a plover? At the time Issa’s new bride was in the hut.
She was crying her solitude, because Issa was stay at Edo from September to December 21. The plover was Issa’s new bride.
What does it mean smoky? Issa’s step mother’s family lived at the next of Issa’s house. Issa and the family had struggled for long years on father’s assets.
Both families felt smoky each others.
At Edo city Issa was thinking his young bride who was solitary at the home.
Sakuo’s haiga
Masajo 真砂女 1969 age 63
さびしさの雪掬ふとききはまるか
sabishi sa no yuki suku’u toki kiwamaru ka
Lee & Emiko’s English
loneliness---
as I scoop the snow
it overcomes me
Seasonal word: snow(winter)
sakuo haiga
Issa 一茶 1812 Age 50
なの花のとっぱづれ也ふじの山
na no hana no toppazure nari fuji no yama
David’s English
at the edge
of the flowering rape...
Mount Fuji
Rape (or canola) is a bright yellow flowering plant of Asia.
sakuo haiga
At this time he stayed in Edo,visiting haiku friends in Bousou in Kantou field.. This hu is read at there.
Masajo 真砂女 1969 age 63
白桃に人刺すごとく刃を入れて
hakuto ni hito sasu gotoku ha wo irete
Lee&Emiko’s English
into a white peach
like stabbing someone
the knife’s edge
Seasonal word: white peach (summer)
Issa 一茶 1821 age 59
寝並んで小蝶と猫と和尚哉
ne narande ko cho^ to neko to osho^ kana
David’s English
sleeping in a row--
little butterfly, cat
pries
The priest is a head priest. In the poem, Issa shows relationship and loving connection between three quite different creatures. Presented in a progression from small to large; the butterfly, cat and priest show themselves to be, in the moment, a little family.
sakuo haiga
Masajo 真砂女 1969 age 63
芒野に心の責苦捨てに出づ
susukino ni kokoro no semeku sute ni izu
Lee&Emiko’s English
field of pampas grass---
I go there to cast away
the anguish of my heart
Seasonal word: field of pampas grass (autumn)
sakuo haiga
