spring butterfly

一茶 1814年52歳
.春のてふ大盃を又なめよ
haru no cho^ o^sakazuki wo mata name yo

David’s English
spring butterfly
at the big sake cup...
sip again!

Issa, 1814, age 52.
Married with 28 years young bride named Kiku
Chrysanthemum.
Kiku is a flower, so butterfly is Issa. Sake-cup means female organ.

sakuo renku
年寄り婿のお腰が立たず
tosiyori muko no okosi ga tatazu

old bridegroom
being unable to stand up

decorating the dog

Issa 1808 age 46.

David English translation

sakuo renku
Bush clover is one of representatives of autumn blooms.
From old times many poems have been created.
Of course Issa well knew it.

three days waiting

Issa, 1818, Age 56
夕立を三日待たせて三粒哉
yu^dachi wo mikka matasete mi tsubu kana

David's English
three days waiting
for this cloudburst...
three drops

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

sakuo renku
夜中に大雨あわてて行水
yonaka ni o-ame awatete gyouzui

heavy rain in mid night
rush to shower

whose palanquin?

by Issa, 1820

David’s comment
Some rich person being carried in a palanquin orders steaming hot buckwheat noodles being sold by a street vendor. Shinji Ogawa explains that the ni ("two") and hachi ("eight") in the name derive from the fact that these noodles were made with 20% flour and 80% buckwheat.

GABI’s info,.
More about the palanquin in Japan

sakuo renku
Who did ride on the palanquin?
I think it is a Gesya girl who has been called.

cold cold

Issa,original 1803
.風寒し寒し寒しと瓦当哉
kaze samushi samushi samushi to gwato^ kana

David's English and comment
"The wind
is cold! cold! cold!"
ceramic lamp

Issa imagines that his "ceramic lamp" (to^sei) is speaking ... and complaining.


Gabi’s information on gwato^瓦当
gatou mon'you　瓦当文様

sakuo aditinal

night traveler

Issa original
.夕涼に笠忘れけり後の宿　
yu^suzu ni kasa wasure keri ato no yado

David’s English
evening cool—
my umbrella-hat left
at the last inn

1821 age 59 http://cat.xula.edu/issa/　
after his marriage 7 years has passed. He already lost three children.

sakuo adtional
先に届いて夜旅迎える　

sakini totoite yotabi mukaeru

having been delivered
meet night traveler

lying spread-eagle

by Issa, 1813

David's comment http://haikuguy.com/issa/search.php?keywords=lying+spread-eagle&year=1813

sakuo comment.
1813, age51, In autumn, his inheritance dispute finally settled, he moves into his family home.
The dispute has longed for 13 years. Finally he got the half of father’s asset from his half brother’s family.
Almost villagers have supported half brother’s side.

sakuo renku.

Rat Day

by Issa
year unknown but same haikus in 1817 .
As formal wears instead of [formal trousers] there are used [courtier’s cap] and [a sword strapped] in those haikus.

Dr. David translates and comments

sakuo comment
Starting at Royal court, the Rat Day became popular spring festival
in Edo era.
Probably Issa would see his first son among the children.
He has died on May last year


Szeryng / Rubinstein - Beethoven Sonata No. 5 "Spring"

Mum wine

by Issa, 1820, Age 58.
Last year his daughter died.
Tenth month, his second son is born.

David's translation

sakuo comment and renku
かくれや＝not select house, a hut remote from residence.
呑手を雇ふ; what for the drinkers were hired ?
菊の酒; Mum Festival wine, I could’t find Festival in original haiku.
Mum is his wife, Kiku, chrysanthemum.
Last question; why his wife hired the drinkers, She was expected to
have a baby at early date, wishing that Issa doesn’t get out for drinking.
Then she called drinking friends to her home.

autum butterfly

by Issa 1813, Age 51
Second Month, he is living in Kashiwabara in a rented house. In autumn, his inheritance dispute finally settled, he moves into his family home.

David’s comment


sakuo renku & renga


Harvest moon--- video

dance with cat

by Issa, 1820 age 58.
Last year Sixth month dear daughter died.

Dr.David translation http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo renku and renga

Saint Jizo

by Issa

Dr,David comment.
Jizo^ is the beloved guardian deity of children. As Gabi Greve notes, Jizo^ is not a "saint" in the strictest sense, since saints are human beings. On the other hand, Jizo^ certainly is a supernatural helper of humans. It is because of this aspect of saintliness that I add "Saint" to the name in my translation: to let Western readers who might not know who Jizo^ is understand at least that he is a helpful religious figure. Most statues of Jizo hold a jewel in the left hand. This one also holds a plum.

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

long raindrops!!

by Issa, 1818

Dr,David translation. http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo.
Hot summer day has closed with shower.
It hears rain dropping. Evening praying starts soon.



Here comes Chopin!!

radish rice

Issa 1803.

Dr. David translation.

sakuo comment and renku.

Do you know radish rice?
By Google image as follows,
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:_v-Duhzp6JKJvM:http://blogimg.goo.ne.jp/user_image/42/82/bf614626bb1c91e1cd6fb0e65c6ab233.jpg

It is mixed rice and radish.
In Edo era, rice was very precious worth as money.
Radish mixing was useful for saving rice.

I remind that in World War second, the very sivere shortage od food has occared.
At last stage of the war as well as after the war, there were nothing to eat.
Every home mixed every thing into rice.
They were potato, beans, vegitable and even weeds.
Of course radish was the representative of mixture. It was not sweet but satisfied the hungry
stomack.

Renku

field rice

Issa 1819

Dr.David translation

sakuo comment and renku

There are two kind of rice plant in Japan.
One is rice plant cultivated in water field. It is called water rice, 水稲　suito.
One more is cultivated in upland, i.e. field. It is field rice,陸稲 rikuto.
Diffrence is that water rice needs supplying water but field rice doesn’t need it.

In Edo era main tax was rice. The rice was mainly water rice.
So the government of Edo has severely controlled water rice field that were measured and registered.
Water rice field was hard to conceal from tax collectors.
On the centrally field rice doesn’t need water. So it is planted mountainside where easily hidden from tax collector. It was called “hidden field “

fresh new leaves

by Issa, 1821 ,

Dr. David translation　 http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo renku
In city on specific day the garbage is gathered from every home.
Crows attack to get them, quite violently in spring time.

smoking ban

by Issa, 1824

Dr. David translation and comment
For Issa who enjoyed his pipe, a smoking ban was a hard thing.

sakuo Haiku
And we now, smokers are suffering from smoking ban all over the world.

pine tree shade

by Issa 1819 age 57, sixth month his daughter die.

Dr. David translate, http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo renku and renga

to one side

Issa year unknown.

Dr.David translation. http://cat.xula.edu/issa/

sakuo renku and renga

work so hard

by Issa 1820, Age 58

Chrysanthemum is Kiku, his wife.
Why didn’t Kiku drink him even dewdrop?

Answer is in death and birth of their children.
1819, sixth month their daughter died.
1820, tenth months their second son is born.
The boy was got pregnant at the first month of the year.
It would be possible that Kiku had urged Issa to make baby.
Issa must so hardly work.

how industrious! shooing the fly

Issa 1824.

Dr.David translation.

sakuo renku.

the nape of neck

Issa 1820

David's translation and comment.
"Heaven's River" refers to the Milky Way. In my first translation I read bon no kubo literally as the recess of a tray, but Sakuo Nakamura alerted me to the fact that Issa is using the expression colloquially to mean, "nape of the neck."

sakuo renku

who are hordes of hell?

David’s English
today even the
hordes of hell celebrate
the new year

kyo^ koso wa jigoku no shu^ mo o-sho^gatsu

.けふこそは地獄の衆もお正月

by Issa, 1820

sakuo comment
The hordes of hell are the heavy workers in this world.
who belong to the lowest class in the society.

sakuo renku and renga

bat in a village without birds

by Issa, 1820 age 57, living in home village. Last year his daughter died.

Key phrase.
There has been a Japanese proverb, saying “ bat in a village without birds”
It means when there is no great person, a petty person wears a big face

sakuo renku
都の話に口開けたきり

big talk on Capital
mouths remain open

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

translated by Dr.David

black kites reeling

by Issa, 1815 age 53, last year he married with young bride.

David’s comment
http://haikuguy.com/issa/search.php?keywords=black+kites+reeling&year=1815

plum blossom moon

by Issa, 1798 , the last year of his 7 years journey to Shaigoku(western area)

花札（japanese　cards）Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanafuda

two claps

By Issa, 1803 , age 41,living in Edo.
He used to go around his haiku friends in Bouso area.

On his trip in summer, he dropped into the shrine that was surrounded with
forest.
As Japanese custom, he prayed the god with two bows, two claps and
one bow.
In still forest the mountain cuckoo sang twice just like response to his two claps.

Fir tree is used as the God’s symbol pole, [onbashira 御柱]
The most famous one is in Suwa Shrine that is in Issa’s home,
Shinano area.

sakuo renku and renga